Women want to rely on partners for financial support

A third of women overall and half of women in Northern Ireland, the south-west and the east of England want to be like the England footballers’ wives and girlfriends (Wags), the Scottish Widows survey showed.

Anne Young, senior marketing manager at Scottish Widows warned against women being too dependent on partners: “Whilst the Wag lifestyle may be fine for those with very rich partners and a copper-bottomed pre-nup, the harsh reality is that women are particularly vulnerable to poverty in later life, often as a result of divorce, being in and out of the workforce because of children, and other factors.”

The survey appears to contradict feminist expectations that women would become increasingly independent from men.

Instead, 41 per cent of women still rely on their partner’s income, pension and savings for their own financial security in the future.

Ms Young urged women to become financially aware whether they were in a relationship or not and to plan for their future.