Taking action to tackle pensions gender gap
RESEARCH from Profile Pensions suggests that in some parts of the UK, women have pots that are on average almost half that of males.
The pension adviser reckons that this gender pensions gap is fuelled by a number of complex and well-documented factors, such as gender specific job roles and huge salary disparities between men and women.
This disparity has decreased in recent years but its effects are made worse by the fact that women still spend so much time out of the job market, and when they do work, they often work in lower paid jobs than their male counterparts, or in a part-time capacity.
Michelle Gribbin – chief investment officer at Profile Pensions – said: “The findings are stark but not surprising. The reasons for the gender pension gap are well documented and hundreds of years in the making, from traditional gender-specific roles to the ongoing discrepancy between the salaries of men and women.
“Although the past 50 years have seen huge strides in the financial status of women, clearly we are still battling against an unequal legacy and steps need to be taken to make sure the gap narrows. Our findings are a timely reminder that women need to take action, as early as possible, to make sure that they are facing retirement confident that they have enough money to live on.”
Michelle reckons that there are some simple things that we can all do to make sure we know how healthy our pensions are, and to take steps to deal with any gaps that we identify.
The starting point is to understand the type of scheme that you have, how much is in it and how much it costs you to operate each year.
If you have a partner, you need to understand how his or her pension works and how much of it will be available to you, either as a lump sum or as a regular income in the event of their death either before or after they retire.
It’s also crucial that any pension you have is reviewed regularly.