Women lose ground in pension gender gap

by Gill Montia

Story link: Women lose ground in pension gender gap

The impact of the recession on retirement planning among women is highlighted in the latest UK pensions’ report from Scottish Widows.

According to the life assurer, the number of Britons contributing the 12% of salary recommended to provide an adequate retirement income has risen slightly in the past 12 months, from 51% to 54%.

However, the gender gap has worsened, with only 47% of women saving enough compared with 59% of men.

In the case of over 50 females, only 42% are making adequate contributions.

Scottish Widows’ head of pension’s market development, Ian Naismith, suspects that women are putting family needs before their own.

For example, by using cash which could be invested to make sure children are protected from the sort of household economies demanded by the recession.

Meanwhile, 25% of Britons do not expect to receive any income from a private pension when they reach retirement age.

For households with earnings between £10,000 and £30,000 the proportion rises to 31% and the self-employed are even less well placed with 35% expecting to be reliant on the State pension.

The Scottish Widows survey was conducted by YouGov and involved 5,000 people in the UK over the age of 30 with a salary of £10,000 or more.