Blog: Women must seize control of pension saving

The news from Scottish Widows that 50% of women are now saving properly in pensions is welcome, but retirement equality is still a long way off.

Although half of women are now saving well compared to 43% last year, men are still saving £700 per year more on average, according to the latest Scottish Widows Women and Pensions Report.

Some of that can be put down to pay inequality, which is another column for another day.

However, a lot of it is down to the outdated ways in which men and women still interact.

Vive la différence?

Research carried out by RetireEasy.co.uk suggested 59% of men aged 50-70 take all of the financial planning responsibility in their households.

Despite the obvious pressure this must put on men, it appears women could not help their spouses out if they tried; just 6% of these men would relinquish financial control to their wives or partners.

Investment attitude is another problem. Studies suggest women are more cautious as investors, which might lead you to believe women are more likely to save.

But there is a difference between caution and prudence; in this case, women are not prudent enough to save, and too cautious about investing their money for another forty or fifty years.

The Scottish Widows research also suggests women are far more likely to prioritise spending on children or other relatives before they put anything away for themselves.

We need to talk

Even if gender inequality within a household is not an issue, there is still reluctance for couples to discuss their financial planning.

Whether it is because women don't want the responsibility or men shut them out of the process, more than half of couples over 40 have not calculated the income they need when they both retire, according to findings from Prudential.

Worse, one in five of those couples have never discussed financial planning, and are presumably making their own plans in their heads (or panicking) separately and in silence.

Where next?

Things are at least looking up. As Scottish Widows pointed out, the proportion of women who are saving is on the up.

Even better, its research said 30% of women aged 30-50 will stay in company pensions when they are auto-enrolled, and for the next generation, the under-30s, this rockets to 43%.

Auto-enrolment, designed to bring the lower-paid and disenfranchised into saving, will be particularly relevant for women.

However, the government is making it clear with reform that pensioners are increasingly on their own.

It is up to the industry to help women, and all potential savers, seize control.