Women are also significantly less likely to have made changes to their workplace pension investment strategy, with 85% of women saying that they haven’t, compared to 75% of men.
These findings reinforce research done earlier this year, finding that the pensions gap widens substantially later in life as almost two fifths (38%) of women over 55 will rely on a state pension only, compared to 17% of men over 55.
Amanda Latham, Policy & Strategy Lead at Barnett Waddingham, commented: “While women are saving more than ever, the fact of the matter is that there’s still a big proportion of women that are at risk of walking into retirement with insufficient funds, and less than their male counterparts. Without a workplace or a private pension, they will be relying on the state pension alone in retirement – which for many, is simply not enough to cover the costs of a comfortable retirement.
“There needs to be a much greater level of financial education to help more women make informed choices about their pension, but the onus shouldn’t fall on individuals alone. In a system designed around inertia, we need to see policymakers and employers offering better default strategies rather than relying on pension holders to come up with them themselves. The existing framework is letting too many women down, when it is in the interests of wider society for people to be well prepared for retirement.”
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