Three in five UK women in employment say they have not done any pension planning beyond auto-enrolment into their workplace pension scheme, compared to 46 per cent of men, according to My Pension Expert.
The survey of 2,000 UK adults found that amongst a trend of low engagement and contributing amongst pension planners the figures were worse for women.
Twice as many women, comprising 15 per cent of respondents, as opposed to 8 per cent of men, are uncertain about their workplace pension details in the UK.
Women are also more likely to only contribute the legal 8 per cent minimum amount, at 19 per cent, compared to male respondents, at 15 per cent.
My Pension Expert’s research also uncovered that less than half of women with a workplace pension, at 44 per cent, say they know how it is performing, compared to 60 per cent of men.
My Pension Expert policy director Lily Megson says: “Our research casts a daunting shadow over the financial futures of British women as the gender pensions gap once again rears its ugly head.
“Women’s retirement health is already impaired by their lower lifetime earnings, so it is doubly concerning that they are not being especially diligent with their pension planning. And with one in six women contributing the legal minimum to their workplace, there is a real risk that many will be unable to adequately support a financially stable lifestyle in retirement.
“It’s clear that more needs to be done to get women engaging with their pension planning both in and out of the workplace – this is where the government and employers must step in. It is critical that robust financial education and pension monitoring tools are made widely available for the UK workforce, and more importantly, that proper encouragement and support is given to engage with them. Only then will women be able to be truly financially empowered and fully engaged with their pension.”
