Final answer:
Financial planning is crucial for women as they typically live longer, potentially face a feminization of poverty, and contend with a gender pay gap, leading to lower lifetime savings for retirements and necessitating more proactive financial planning.
Step-by-step explanation:
The question asks why financial planning is more important for women than for men. The best answer, supported by empirical evidence, is option B) Because women typically live longer and may need more savings. Women often face the feminization of poverty, where they disproportionately represent the majority of individuals in poverty across the globe. This can be due to wage disparities, lower lifetime earnings, and the prevalence of single motherhood, which can compound financial challenges in long-term savings and retirement planning. The gender pay gap further exacerbates this situation, as addressed in the White House report, "This significant gap is more than a statistic—it has real-life consequences." Moreover, the potential reduction in savings due to reliance on Social Security necessitates proactive financial planning for women.