It’s a supreme irony of the pensions industry.
One of the biggest players is named after a woman, and features a woman – the enigmatic, eponymous Scottish widow character – in all its adverts.
Ironic because women still face fundamental disadvantages when it comes to pension saving, thanks to a combination of workplace convention, employment and tax law.
And ironic because pension companies, like many financial services firms, are often male-dominated.
The WASPI saga embodies how women have been discriminated against by the pensions establishment for years.
The increase in the state retirement age for women is set to rob women born in the 1950s of tens of thousands of pounds’ worth of state pension.
While the government may have a point in its call for gender equality on the state pension age, the rushed and poorly communicated plan gave as many as three million women almost no time to prepare for such a fundamental change.
We’re unlikely to see pension providers rushing to launch women-specific products or marketing campaigns.To be fair, much of the discrimination in the pensions system is unconscious. But that doesn’t make it any less real or any less egregious.
Either way, the net result is pretty shocking. Last year figures from Aegon revealed that on retirement, the average man will have built up a private pension of £73,600 – three times the £24,900 saved by the average woman.
The blame for this imbalance cannot be laid at the pensions industry’s door. Women typically earn less than men, and so have less money to save into a pension.
Women are also more likely than men to take a break from work to raise children, and many will put their pension saving on hold while they’re not earning.
The finger should instead be pointed at the tax relief system, which – as is much debated in these pages – favours the better-off, and by extension, is frequently less favourable to women.
But if the pensions system as a whole penalises women, what can be done to redress the balance?
Clearly the pensions industry would like more women to save more into private pensions. But we’re unlikely to see pension providers rushing to launch women-specific products or marketing campaigns.
While the prospect might have the best intentions, the risk that such an approach might be seen as patronising or sexist will deter many. Anyone who remembers Michael Winner’s toe-curling adverts flogging motor insurance to women will know what I mean.
Meanwhile we shouldn’t expect auto-enrolment to be a silver bullet either. While it has got more people – and therefore more women – into the pension habit, its link to the workplace means women benefit less if they take time out to raise a family.
So the only realistic way to tilt things in women’s favour would be to use the single most powerful lever available to the government – pension tax relief.
I’m no advocate of politicians meddling with the pension system unnecessarily. But with it widely expected that reform of the pension tax relief system is coming anyway, I’d urge the government to consider including a tax relief incentive for women as part of the change.
Whether this means offering a slightly higher rate of tax relief to women, or some other tax break, the government has the power to give a vital financial boost to the millions of women whose personal pension savings are currently inadequate.
Such a measure should also inspire women to contribute more themselves.
This is controversial stuff. Such a measure would be complex to design, and would inevitably be seen as ‘positive’ discrimination in favour of women.
But Esther McVey, the new Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, might just be the champion such an idea needs.
While a newbie to the pensions world, her previous ministerial stints show she’s not afraid to take on vested interests.
Whether by accident or design, the pensions system currently favours men. If Ms McVey is keen to make her mark and level the playing field for women, this bold if difficult course could be the answer.
But the question is whether she will have the courage. Cometh the hour, cometh the woman?
John Fox is managing director of Liberty SIPP
