More than half or 51 per cent of disabled people are not saving enough to sustain an adequate lifestyle in retirement, falling short of the minimum recommended by the Pensions & Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), according to Scottish Widows.
Scottish Widows’ 19th annual retirement report highlights the disparities in retirement for different groups.
The report highlights the poor retirement prospects for people with disabilities, with 51 per cent living in poverty and an average income of £11,000. The disability equality organisation Scope underlines the need for £975 extra per month to attain parity with households that do not have disabilities.
People with disabilities are nearly twice as likely to face an inadequate retirement (51 per cent versus 28 per cent) as a result of this financial discrepancy. But compared to 40 per cent of non-disabled people, only 24 per cent of disabled people are on track for a retirement lifestyle that the PLSA describes as “comfortable.”
The study found that just 37 per cent of people with severe activity limitations because of a disability are now employed, but this number jumps to 65 per cent among people with mild limitations and 82 per cent for others.
Scottish Widows head of policy Pete Glancy says: “Disabled people are less likely to save adequately for retirement because many are simply not in a position to do so. This is not a pension problem but a wider employment problem, with the difficulties that disabled people face in the job market reflected in their retirement outcomes.
“Disproportionately represented in lower paid and part-time employment, many lack the opportunity to accrue a pension pot via auto-enrolment. They are therefore more likely to rely on other forms of support such as pension credits and housing benefit.
“The business community must ensure that disabled people are given the same priority in the DE&I agenda as other protected characteristics – and, more broadly, the same employment opportunities as everyone else. Otherwise, increasing numbers of disabled people will face serious financial hardship in retirement.”
Scope head of policy and campaigns Louise Rubin says: “Life costs a lot more when you’re disabled, and planning for retirement is a luxury many cannot afford. Many disabled people are denied the opportunity to get into, stay in, and progress in work, making it much harder to build up a pension. We need to break the link between poverty and disability and make sure disabled people have an equal standard of living. Tackling the disability employment gap and driving down the extra cost of disability must be made political priorities.”
