July 2021

UK. DWP failed in communicating women’s state pension age changes

Government officials were too slow to tell many women they would be affected by the rising state pension age, the Parliamentary Ombudsman has ruled. The finding brings the prospect of compensation closer for thousands of women born in the 1950s who have long been furious about the issue. It marks a significant victory for the Waspi (Women Against State Pension Inequality) campaign. However, the ombudsman has no power to refund "lost" pensions. It is also unable to recommend that anyone receive their state...

Fewer women than men will regain employment during the COVID-19 recovery says ILO

The inequalities between women and men in the world of work that have been exacerbated during the COVID-19 pandemic will persist in the near future, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO). A new policy brief finds there will be 13 million fewer women in employment in 2021 compared to 2019, while men’s employment will have recovered to 2019 levels. Even though the projected jobs growth in 2021 for women exceeds that of men, it will, nonetheless, be insufficient to...

UK. Women expected to be hit hardest if triple lock scrapped

Women will be hit the hardest if the government scraps the triple lock on the state pension, as they are almost twice as likely to rely on the benefit, according to Barnett Waddingham (BW). Research from the firm showed that 30 per cent of women do not have any private or workplace pensions, and were therefore likely receive a state pension only at retirement, while 17 per cent of men were in the same position. BW’s survey results showed that this...

Germany finally launches basic pension scheme

Germany’s basic pension scheme kicks off this July Shortly before the federal election in September, Germany’s coalition government is finally delivering on its promise to top-up insubstantial pension benefits to ensure a basic standard of living for all retirees who have contributed to the social security system. Under the new system, anyone who has contributed towards a German pension for at least 33 years will qualify for a basic pension. This includes not just time spent working, but also time taken...

What would women’s pensions look like if there wasn’t a gender pay gap? The economic case for gender-inclusive, paid parental leave

By Pension Bee PensionBee’s vision is a world where everyone can look forward to a happy retirement. For this to happen, we all need good health, financial freedom, and social inclusion. Currently, an obstacle to achieving this financial freedom for all is a gender pension gap of up to almost 60%. Bold action is required to challenge this so that women can enjoy similar levels of wealth in retirement as men. This is particularly important as women tend to live longer...

UK. Women’s pensions ‘would gain over £106k on average’ if new fathers did half of unpaid care work, report finds

Women are losing out on over £100,000 in their pension pots on average due to men not taking on an equal share of unpaid care work in the early years of child-rearing, a new report has found. Read also UK. Half of millennials want cryptocurrencies in pensions The "gender pension gap" is a known issue. Women are more likely to be left in poverty on retirement because they typically work fewer hours due to caring responsibilities from their late twenties onwards,...

June 2021

The Gender Pensions Gap

By A recent report by the trade union Prospect found that the gender pensions income gap (39.5%) was more than double the size of the total gender pay gap (18.5%), with the average female pensioner £7000 p.a. poorer than their male equivalent.2 This inequality in the present is the result of the unequal accrual of pension entitlements over decades. It is mainly the product of women’s lower state pension entitlement, the gender pay gap, lower historic access to workplace pensions and...

Women and Retirement in a Post Covid-19 World

By Margaret Claire Dale, Susan St John Women on average live longer than men and are more likely to live alone or be widowed. In spite of their greater needs, they are more likely to arrive at retirement without secure housing, to have saved less because of caring duties and lower wages, and thus to experience greatly restricted lifestyles in retirement. They are more likely to require expensive end of life care for longer than men on average and endure...

Pensions – 5 things for policy makers to close the gender pensions gap

Three tenths (30%) of women do not have any private or workplace pensions, and will receive a state pension only at retirement, almost double the amount of men (17%) in the same position – showing that women have less savings and are less prepared for a financially stable retirement. • The pensions gap widens even more, later in life. Almost two fifths (38%) of women over 55 will rely on a state pension only, compared to 17% of men...

May 2021

How Regulators Use Sex-Disaggregated Data and RegTech to Enhance Financial Inclusion

By Toronto Centre Financial inclusion of women brings disproportionate benefits to their families and to economic development, yet in many countries an access-to-finance gender gap remains. Sex-disaggregated data (SDD) is key to monitoring and addressing this problem. This study examines the role that financial services regulators can play in efforts to address financial inclusion of women: how they are using, or could use, SDD to enhance women’s access to and use of financial products and services of the right quality that...