May 2021

Australia’s Budget Takes Steps to Narrow Gender Gap in Pensions

Australia is taking steps to lift retirement savings of women in a bid to address the gender pension gap. The government will remove the A$450 ($352) per month earnings threshold before employers are forced contribute cash into their workers’ retirement funds by July 2022, according to budget documents released Tuesday. Australia will also increase compulsory pension savings to 10% of a worker’s wage from July 1, as previously legislated. Read also Australia Considers Paying Pensions on Parental Leave Program The plan comes...

April 2021

Australia. Women retire with over $30,000 lower balance in super than men

Australians need to prepare for retirement and take control over when and with how much they want to retire, according to chief analyst at Wealth Within, Dale Gillham. He stressed it was also concerning that women retired on average with a balance of $122,848 in super compared to men who, according to the Association of Superannuation Funds Australia (ASFA) figures, retired with an average of $154,453. “When you look at the figures on how much Australians are retiring on, it shines...

UK. Pension communications ‘failing to engage’ more women than men

The FCA's Financial Lives research revealed 60% of women are unaware of the charges on their defined contribution (DC) pension compared to 44% of men, while 57% of women have not reviewed how much their pension is worth in the last 12 months compared to 46% of men. Additionally, 14% of women admitted they do not read their annual statement, more than double the 6% of men who do not read it. More than half of women (53%) did not choose...

March 2021

UK women have up to 45% less in pension at retirement than men

The UK pensions system disadvantages women compared to men, with females having between 25% to 45% less in their pension pots at retirement, new data has shown. According to analysis from professional services consultancy Barnett Waddingham, the gender pension gap begins to diverge most after the age of 32, with men contributing up to £1,500 ($2,068) per annum more into their pension than women. This is despite contributing the same percentage of their salary. The research, which analysed the data and saving...

UK. PensionBee cuts gender pay gap to 4%

PensionBee has reduced its median hourly gender pay gap to 4 per cent, in line with its aim of achieving equality with a variance of 5 per cent permitted due to the overall size of the employee base. The pension provider, which also noted it had a median bonus pay gap of 0 per cent among its staff, said it had achieved gender employment parity across all levels of its business, while figures from the Office for National Statistics (ONS)...

Virus exacts toll on women’s retirement savings, workplace diversity efforts – panel

The issues facing women in saving for retirement dominated discussions at Pensions & Investments' Defined Contribution Spring Virtual Series held March 8-11. With the pandemic bringing those issues into sharp relief, talk centered on the "shecession," a reference to the COVID-19-triggered exodus of women from the workforce as they wrestled with the lack of child care options. During a panel discussion on the first day of the conference, which coincided with International Women's Day, speakers lamented the departure of women from...

“Pensions for women, the challenges ahead. International Women’s Day Selection of News and Research”

UK. Pension challenges women face will impact on their retirement 03/12/21 March 8 marks International Women’s Day and celebrates the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women. Ghana. Low financial literacy responsible for low patronage of pensions by women and informal workers 03/12/21 A Compliance officer with the National Pensions Regulatory Authority (NPRA) says low financial literacy is the cause of low patronage of the pension scheme among women and people in the informal sector. Taking a workforce break to raise children...

Towards Improved Retirement Savings Outcomes for Women

By OECD Labour market inequalities are well-known to be the main drivers of the gender pension gap. This publication focuses on helping governments find solutions for retirement savings arrangements that do not further exacerbate these inequalities. This study first analyses why the gender pension gap exists and sheds light on some of the behavioural and cultural factors that contribute to these inequalities. Country case studies assess how demographics, labour markets and other factors may affect gaps in pension coverage, assets...

Gender Gap in Pension Income: Cross-Country Analysis and Role of Gender AttitudesBy

By Anna Veremchuk The aim of this paper is to study the gender pension gap in Europe based on the newest EU-SILC data from the 2018 wave. The contribution of the paper is twofold. First, it provides evidence on factors shaping the gender pension gap in a large number of EU countries. Second, it analyses the relationship between the pension gap and: (1) the coverage of occupational (second pillar) pensions and (2) gender attitudes. The main factor contributing to gender inequality in pension...

Pension Information and Women’s Awareness

By Marta Angelici, Daniela Del Boca, Noemi Oggero, Paola Profeta, Maria Christina Rossi, Claudia Villosio We explore the role of financial and pension information in increasing women’s knowledge and awareness of their future pension status, and consequently, in reducing the gender pension gap. A representative sample of 1249 Italian working women were interviewed to assess their knowledge about pensions and financial issues and about their own savings and personal wealth planned for retirement. The responses showed that their knowledge and...