May 2022

US. The Impact Of Government Retirement Requirements On Small-Business Owners

Retirement funds in America accumulate mainly through employer-sponsored plans including 401(k) accounts. As of 2021, 68% of private industry workers had access to this type of plan. However, while an exact number is not known, in 2017, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated that only 41% of those with access to a 401(k) contributed to it. As a response to this issue, a number of states have passed retirement mandates requiring businesses to offer their employees a retirement savings plan. While...

Half of older women fear having to work beyond UK state pension age – study

Half of older women fear they will have to keep working beyond the state pension age in order to make ends meet, according to research. As many as 53% of women aged 45 and over surveyed by the older worker advice website Workingwise.co.uk said they were concerned that their pension would not be enough for them to be financially independent in later life. The study, carried out to investigate women’s economic situation as they approach retirement, exposes the lasting impact that...

UK. State pension to hit £10,600 as triple lock returns – up to £1,000 extra income next year

The State Pension could rise by almost £1,000 to more than £10,600 a year as inflation rockets past 10 percent and the triple lock is restored. Read also UK. Less than third of schemes regularly track individual fund performance This would be the single biggest increase ever and could see the new State Pension top £10,600 a year. However, those who retired before April 6, 2016, on the old State Pension will get a smaller increase. Yesterday, the Bank of England forecast...

Half of Hong Kong women face retirement income challenges

Only one in three women say they are confident in their ability to make their pension contributions, whereas 40% of men say the same, according to the Fidelity’s Global Women & Money Study 2022. Read also Millennials Will Make Impact Investing Mainstream Due to the lack of confidence in financial planning, 46% of the surveyed Hong Kong women are worried they are unprepared financially for retirement, while 43% of men felt the same. Read also On the path to bigger income in...

April 2022

UK. PensionBee publishes gender pay gap figures for 2021

PensionBee, a leading online pension provider, has revealed a median hourly pay gap of just 1.6%, and a median bonus pay gap of 0% among its staff, as at 31 December 2021. The gap is in line with PensionBee’s target of 0%, with a variance of +/- 5% owing to the overall size of the employee base. This is the second year that PensionBee has voluntarily reported on its pay gap, as part of its commitment to wage equality, in...

March 2022

Affordable childcare the key to boosting women’s retirement savings

More affordable early childhood education and care could help boost the superannuation of Australian women, who are currently retiring with one third less super than men. According to a new report from Industry Super Australia, increasing the child care subsidy for low- and middle-income families to 95 per cent and flattening taper rates, could see a woman on the median wage, if she moved from part-time to full-time work, retire with an extra $118,000. Industry Super Australia says improving women’s workforce...

Ghana. Peoples Pension Trust partners SCBF to introduces new Pension Scheme to support women

Peoples Pension Trust (PPT) has partnered the Swiss Capacity Building Facility (SCBF) to introduce new a pension scheme. The new programme; Scaling Gender-Focused Financial Resilience (SGFR) was launched to commemorate this year’s International Women’s Day. Read also Does Informal Sector Size Impede Economy Growth in Developing Countries? SGFR will support informal, marginalized, and excluded female workers and entrepreneurs to secure their future through micro-pensions. Globally 1.8 billion people are working in the informal sector, and in Ghana, this represents approximately 80% of the...

UK. Gender Pension Gap widens from the age of thirty-five

New research from Aviva has found the Gender Pension Gap begins to widen significantly from the age of thirty-five. Based on the workplace pension employer and employee contributions of just over 2 million savers and retirees (1), the gap between men and women’s pension contributions for 35 to 39 year olds is 18%. It then increases to 23% for 40-44 year olds and 29% for 45-49 year olds. It then stretches to 35% for 50 to 54 year olds. Read also...

Why women’s pensions need more attention to reach equality

By Helen Morrissey International Women’s Day asks us to imagine a world free of bias and look towards a more equitable future. Equal pay and financial prospects are integral to this but remain an area where women continue to struggle as they remain significantly lower paid than men. This issue affects women throughout their working lives and leaves them retiring with a total pension income that is on average a whopping 37.9 per cent less than men. This is more than...

Retired women in South Africa carry a huge burden of poverty

Retired women in South Africa carry a huge burden of poverty

South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa, recently acknowledged that “South Africa needs a new consensus to deal with poverty, unemployment and inequality”. Despite the government’s efforts to address poverty through the provision of state grants, it’s still on the rise. In 2020, it was reported that half of the population was experiencing hardships that have pulled individuals and households into poverty. Even before the COVID-19 pandemic, the South African economy had been growing very slowly, with high rates of unemployment and increasing...