A frightening proportion of UK women do not have private pension plans, with two-thirds saying they will be reliant on the state pension, research from online investment services provider Willis Owen has found.
Pennies to rub together
Shockingly, 34% of women claimed not to have a pension plan – this compares with 17% of men.
Of those without a pension, 41% of women and 34% of men have no intention of starting one.
Putting saving off until a later date is an approach adopted by both genders, with 40 being the trigger age for 17% of women and 13% of men.
But 9% of women and 4% of men don’t expect to start saving into a pension until they reach 50.
The firm surveyed 1,070 UK adults about their plans for retirement.
How people without private pension plans intend to pay for their retirement
| Men | Women | Both | |
| State pension | 64% | 65% | 65% |
| Other personal savings | 36% | 34% | 34% |
| Partner’s pension/ savings/investments | 7% | 28% | 21% |
| Still be working | 24% | 14% | 17% |
| Inheritance | 17% | 15% | 15% |
| Don’t know | 14% | 13% | 14% |
Breaking a good habit
But the worry isn’t just the number of people without pensions, many are also cancelling payments into schemes.
Over a third (35%) of respondents claim to have stopped paying into a pension over the past 12 months.
The primary reasons for this – as cited by the 28% of respondents who have stopped – is that they could no longer afford it.
This is followed by 20% who said they would rather use the money for other purposes, while 13% wanted to use it to help them get on the property ladder.
Alarming information
Adrian Lowcock, head of personal investing at Willis Owen, said: “It’s understandable that people are opting to focus on their financial needs today, such as getting on the property ladder, as opposed to financing their needs in retirement when they stop work.
“However, it’s alarming to see so many people without pension plans, or who have stopped paying into them. Not only are they missing out on generous tax benefits provided by saving into pension schemes, the reality for many of them is that they will never be able to stop work and enjoy a retirement.”
Lowcock added that “it’s never too late to own your financial future and start saving into a pension scheme”.
