Whether you are Annie or Aretha it is safe to say that you are taking the pretty serious role of retirement planning by storm, much in the same way as Lennox and Franklin did for music. Women are not only playing a major role in the workplace and paying their way but they are also stealthily catching up with their male counterparts in providing for retirement.
Year on year women are salting away sizable sums for their later years either via their employers’ pension scheme or on their own account. No longer are women willing to rely on the other half for their wellbeing in retirement. Women have never had it so good, but it is fair to say that this is still not enough as evidenced in a recent survey by a major pension provider.
the role women tend to play in the workplace, often at much lower pay. Women also have more gaps in their employment record for obvious reasons such as caring for children and other family. Also in periods of economic instability and high unemployment women are often the first to be pushed!
On the plus side the gender gap will decline without further intervention by women due to the equalisation of the State Pension Age and woman working on longer. Also the gender gap can vary widely with significant regional variations.
This does not mean that you should in any way be complacent. Statistics also show that woman continue to live longer and hence longer in retirement. Woman will have to set more aside to provide the same income in retirement as men. Failing to save adequately for the extra years of life could seriously damage your retirement plans.
Sisters, all the more reason for taking responsibility now and do’it for yourselves!
- Women need to save more
- Women live longer than men
- Women need to pay more in to pension to buy the same income in retirement as men
- Women should plan a budget on typically lower earnings and prioritise pension contributions