Today, Scottish Widows released its latest Women and Retirement Report, which found that the gender pensions gap will take at least 20 years to close unless decisive action is taken.
Notably, it revealed that two fifths of women (42%) are currently on track to face poverty in retirement compared to just over a third (35%) of men.
Yet again, weโre faced with damning evidence that British women are drawing the short straw when it comes to their pension planning.
A myriad of factors play into this: social gender roles, lower rates of financial literacy, the gender pay gap and lower rates of auto-enrolment being the greatest barriers.
And these are all well-known facts โ and have been for some time โ so, frankly, why isnโt more being done to bridge the gap?
Targeted support from the government is therefore a must. Taking action through policy that boosts financial education, encourages active pension engagement, widens access to auto-enrolment and closes the gender pay gap is a vital step in empowering women to achieve the retirement they deserve.
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