A recent report released by pensions consultants TPT has found that 60 percent of women aged 50 to 59 say they have concerns about the amount of money they will have saved up to retire with later in life.
The research found that on average, a woman’s pension would be roughly £17,024 less than their male counterparts.
Also, highlighting that among those who knew how much they had saved, men would typically retire with a substantially larger pension than women.
Macro factors are shown to be impacting a woman’s ability to save with 71 percent blaming expensive bills, 66 percent struggling with rising food prices and 25 percent highlighting that increasing mortgage repayments were affecting their chances to save.
In fact, almost half (four in ten) of women said that they planned to continue working to pay for their retirement, on average saying they will work an additional five years.
Barriers within the workplace
Sheila Flavell CBE, Chief Operating Officer for FDM Group, said: “Women face continuous barriers within the workplace and an unequal gender pay gap produces further barriers both inside, and outside of, the workplace. While there has been a recent push towards diversity, equity and inclusion, there must be a greater commitment to providing equal pay opportunities for women in the workforce, especially at a time when the cost of living is rising, and economic uncertainty is rife.”
“The gender pay gap can have a domino effect, often hindering a woman’s career progression, preventing them from securing highly paid, senior positions in organisations. As a skill gap prevails, organisations should understand that offering equal pay will, in the long run, allow women to advance their skills and act as a catalyst for plugging the nationwide gap while providing them with equal opportunities to prepare for their futures and retirement later in life.”
Helen Taylor, a Director at TPT, said: “Coping with the rising cost of living has become a major challenge for many people, and our research shows women are struggling more than men.”
“While inflation and energy bills may fall later this year, the cost-of-living crisis is likely to have a long-term impact on how prepared people are for retirement.”
Amelia Brand is the Editor for HRreview, and host of the HR in Review podcast series. With a Master’s degree in Legal and Political Theory, her particular interests within HR include employment law, DE&I, and wellbeing within the workplace. Prior to working with HRreview, Amelia was Sub-Editor of a magazine, and Editor of the Environmental Justice Project at University College London, writing and overseeing articles into UCL’s weekly newsletter. Her previous academic work has focused on philosophy, politics and law, with a special focus on how artificial intelligence will feature in the future.
