Fidelity International’s Global Women and Money study finds 42% of UK women do not know how much they have saved for retirement, compared to 25% of men.
Without greater engagement with their retirement planning, women face a further widening of an already glaring pension gap, warns Fidelity International.
New research reveals two-fifths (42%) of women in the UK don’t know how much they have saved for retirement, compared with a quarter (25%) of men1. This figure rises slightly among those closest to retirement, with 44% of women aged 55 and over unaware of how much is in their pension pot. Almost a quarter (24%) are unsure how much they’re saving towards their pension each month compared to 13% of men, while another 13% of women are not making any regular contributions at all compared to 10% of men.
Maike Currie, Investment Director at Fidelity International, comments:
“Women already face a myriad of saving challenges from the so-called ‘motherhood penalty’2, to the ‘good daughter penalty’3 and of course the gender pay gap4. While these factors are challenging, often they’re beyond our control. What we can control, however, is how much we are putting into our pensions.
“There are still too many women who don’t know how much they’re contributing to their pension, how much is in that pension pot, and crucially whether it will be enough to fund the retirement they choose. Industry, Government and women themselves need to step up to ensure women are informed and equipped with the right tools, guidance and advice to prepare for retirement and ensure financial independence.”
Fidelity’s research also reveals that nearly half of women (49%) don’t think they’ll have enough in their pension to fund the lifestyle they’d like in retirement. For many, its pressure on their current finances which holds them back from saving more, with 46% of women saying they don’t put more into a pension because they don’t have the available funds and 21% saying that other savings priorities take precedence. Perhaps most concerning, 17% are unsure how best to save for the future.
The findings are published as Fidelity International launches its Global Women and Money study, a report on the finances of women in six markets around the world – the UK, Germany, Hong Kong SAR, Taiwan, Japan and China.
Global comparisons of retirement preparedness:
% of women who don’t know how much they have saved for retirement | % of women who are worried they won’t have enough in their pension pot to fund their retirement | |
UK | 42% | 49% |
Japan | 58% | 53% |
Germany | 44% | 48% |
Taiwan | 24% | 37% |
Hong Kong | 9% | 40% |
China | 13% | 8% |