Almost three-fifths (57%) of women fear they are not preparing adequately for retirement, compared with two-fifths (41%) of men, according to research from Scottish Widows.
The 12th edition of the group’s annual Women and Retirement report also found half of women (52%) are now saving adequately for their retirement compared with 60% of men.
While this maintains the record high seen in 2015, however, the gap between men and women has widened since 2014, when 50% of women were saving adequately compared with 55% of men.
The report suggests shifting patterns in employment among women are also affecting their ability to save for retirement. Almost 1.5 million women in the UK are now self-employed – a 22% increase in four years and twice the rate of self-employed men, according to Office for National Statistics figures.
Just over a third (36%) are saving adequately for retirement, says the Scottish Widows report, compared with 47% of self-employed men and 58% of employed women.
The findings suggest this trend is set to continue, with more than three-fifths (62%) of self-employed women claiming they do not think they will be able to save any more in the next 12 months, compared with less than half (46%) of men in the same position.
Scottish Widows retirement expert Jackie Leiper said: “Additionally, with 16% of women working part-time, a significant proportion could be exposed when it comes to saving for their retirement due to the fact automatic enrolment is only triggered when employees earn £10,000 a year or more.
“Twice as many women as men – 6% versus 3% – are working at least two jobs, yet still failing to qualify for automatic enrolment as the amount they earn from each is below the £10,000 threshold.”
According to the report,women appear more negatively affected by their personal circumstances than men, with 42% of divorced women saving adequately compared with 47% of divorced men.
Younger women are the least optimistic about their retirement, with 18% of women aged 18 to 29 saying they felt positive compared with 25% of men in the same age group.
‘Savings gap persists’
Leiper said: “It is encouraging to see more than half of women are making sufficient savings towards their retirement, but a growing savings gap persists in the UK. It is vital we address this to ensure women feel reassured about their finances and prepared for retirement – whether they are self-employed, work for a large employer, are divorced, married or single.”
Leiper also called for more to be done to ensure auto-enrolment does not marginalise female savers who may not qualify for the threshold.
She said: “This means we need to engage innovatively with female millennial savers, who are just beginning to put money aside for their retirement. Our research shows they are crying out for information, and learning good savings habits now will help ensure they are better prepared for later life.”
Aegon UK head of pensions Kate Smith said the company’s own research showed women save an average of £1,020 less each year into pensions compared with men, adding this was largely the result of the prevailing gender pay gap.
She added: “Recent analysis of auto-enrolment trends by the Department for Work and Pensions highlighted that 30% of people with multiple low earning jobs are ineligible for auto-enrolment, and of this group, 86% are women.
“Women face a unique set of challenges when it comes to saving through a combination of longer life expectancy and career breaks that can make regular contributions challenging.”
Last week Now Pensions suggested scrapping the £10,000 auto-enrolment threshold and qualifying earnings calculation, both of which result in women disproportionately losing out.
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