UK. Retirement income gender gap is the biggest in a decade
At first glance, the latest numbers suggest we’re all finally winning the battle for a comfortable old age.
Official figures out this week from the Department for Work and Pensions and the Pension Regulator show equal numbers of men and women are now saving into a workplace pension.
Even the number of employees asking to join who don’t automatically qualify – often women in part-time roles who don’t earn enough – has increased dramatically.
Commenting on the figures, Guy Opperman, the minister for pensions and financial inclusion, says: “It’s great to see a whole new generation of workers in big and small businesses putting money away and planning for a more secure future. The progress we’ve made towards eliminating the gender gap in pension saving is hugely encouraging.”
But the whole truth isn’t quite that upbeat. We know that women struggle to match the retirement savings of men for a range of complex reasons. They earn less in the first place (currently around 9 per cent less on average) and their income, and therefore retirement savings, usually take a huge hit when they take time out to care for children or elderly family and friends – still a responsibility overwhelmingly taken on by women.
Read more @Independent
