Women not saving for retirement early enough

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Women not saving for retirement early enough

Only one in five women believe that they are saving enough for their retirement compared with a third of men.

According to figures from investment manager Brewin Dolphin, published on May 23, women are saving less than men for their retirement with only 15 per cent saying they are saving for later life compared with 20 per cent of men.

Brewin Dolphin’s Family Wealth Report, which surveyed 5,000 savers, found that women are particularly worried about their pension, with a quarter saying this was because they didn’t start saving early enough.

When asked how much they think they will have saved by the time they reach retirement age, on average women anticipate they will have £168,006.

This is almost £100,000 less than the amount men are expecting to save at £255,328.

Brewin Dolphin found women were saving less of their net income each month than men with women putting aside 9.4 per cent compared with the 11.4 per cent saved by men. 

Fewer women also appeared to have made plans for their pension money as 38 per cent of women claimed they did not know what to do with their savings when they retire, compared to a third of men.

Wayne Berry, investment manager at Brewin Dolphin, said: "Whilst our research shows that women are not putting aside as much as men, either for their future or their retirement, we can also see that they are not as confident when thinking about what they want to do with their pension pots. 

"However, it is easy to get sucked into stereotypes about the differences between men and women when investing. We know that attitudes to finance are driven as much by social and demographic factors like education, employment status and financial circumstances as they are by gender. 

"We know, too, that many more women are primary carers with part-time roles and less income to invest."

The research found that a fifth of women would rely on the state pension in retirement compared to 13 per cent of men.

Liz Alley, divisional director of financial planning at Brewin Dolphin, said women tend to seek investment advice when their relationships have broken down and many are unaware of what to do to ensure they have plans in place to save enough for later life.

Ms Alley said: "Many women are simply not aware of their financial circumstances or of the options available to them. In fact, many seem to have a cautious approach to dealing with their own finances.

"Clearly in the unfortunate event of a relationship breakdown, it is important for everyone to overcome any reluctance about dealing with finances and take advice as early as they can to ensure a fair split of assets for the future."

Last week (May 24) it was revealed that the increase in the average age of people getting divorced is leading to more complex financial settlements, including disputes over pension pots.

The number of pension attachment orders made by family courts since 2011 has doubled, according to figures obtained from the Ministry of Justice by law firm Nockolds.

A pension attachment order obliges the pension scheme to pay a certain percentage of the monthly pension payments or cash lump sum to the other party.

Francesca Davey, an associate at Nockolds, said: "Pensions are increasingly a major issue in divorce but for the growing number of older couples getting divorced private pensions are often the most valuable asset after the family home.

"With more people undertaking DIY divorces online, the chances of making a mistake in relation to pensions is increasing. 

"In many cases a pension attachment order may not be the most appropriate remedy. This is because the order does not prevent a person from transferring money out of their pension or oblige them to continue paying in, so unless the pension is already in drawdown, it can be ineffective."

amy.austin@ft.com

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