Pensions crisis as a million retire early due to menopause

A PENSIONS crisis is looming because too many women who are experiencing symptoms of the menopause retire early, a Government adviser has warned.

Andy Briggs, the Government’s Business Champion for Older Workers, said that almost one million women have left employment because of the menopause.

The women affected tend to be aged between 45 and 55 – when they usually earn most and can contribute most to their workplace pensions.

Mr Briggs told The Mail on Sunday: ‘Nearly four million women in the UK are aged between 45 and 55 and are in employment. And women aged over 50 are the fastest-growing segment of the workforce. Yet one in five women end up leaving the workplace as a result of some of the symptoms of menopause.’

He added: ‘To leave the workplace in your 50s – when we know that you’re far less likely than someone younger to return to work – has a huge impact on your retirement income.’

He said many of these women may also have taken a career break to look after children – ‘one of the reasons why women generally have a lower pension in the first place’.

Mr Briggs, who runs the UK’s largest retirement company, Phoenix, co-chairs the 50Plus Choices Employer Taskforce of business groups along with Employment Minister Mims Davies.

It has released a report aimed at helping older women stay in the workforce. Recommendations include more clinical support for women with menopausal symptoms, more appropriate sick leave policies, a Government-backed drive to promote conversations in the workplace and creation of a ‘menopause ambassador’.

Mr Briggs said: ‘Six out of ten women tell us that the menopause has a significant impact on them from a work perspective. And yet it’s just never talked about.’