On International Women’s Day (8th March), Punter Southall Aspire, a specialist in workplace savings, pensions and retirement planning, is urging employers to do more to support the financial wellbeing of their female employees as a new report from Insuring Women’s Futures[i] highlights women are falling behind in terms of pension savings and many other aspects of financial wellbeing.
Insuring Women’s Futures[ii], a programme led by the Chartered Insurance Institute, found that women aged 25 will accumulate a workplace pension savings that are 20% less than men by the age of 65 (£40,332 compared to £50,514)*. The report also highlighted that 52% of women in their late 20s say they do not understand enough to make decisions about retirement savings – vs. 38% of men.
Other research from Punter Southall Aspire[iii] found there are key differences in the financial behaviour of men and women, with women less likely than men to know about the specifics of their own pension.
87% of men knew exactly how much they were putting into their workplace pension, compared to 77% of women. Nearly a third of women said they had “no idea” whether they were saving enough for retirement, compared to just a fifth of men.
The research also found that women take less ownership of their pension than men do. They are more likely to look to their employer to provide pension guidance and information and are more inclined to accept the standard contribution basis set by the employer, without making any adjustments.
Johanna Nelson, Associate Director, Communications at Punter Southall Aspire says, “On International Women’s Day we want to shine a spotlight on the pension savings gap women are facing and encourage employers to do more to help improve women’s financial wellbeing.
“There are many reasons why women fall behind when it comes to saving for their pension, including taking time off to have children, having different career pathways and being more likely to work part-time. However, employers can help women have a better understanding of their finances by introducing educational programmes that could improve their financial circumstances.
“It’s important that employers don’t take a ‘one size fits all approach’ and that they tailor their programmes to suit their employees’ unique needs. We recommend employers take a fair, inclusive, safe and supportive approach to workplace financial wellbeing that is driven by what employees need.
“This will enable them to develop a financial wellbeing strategy that is employee=driven rather than business-driven. This approach will ensure the strategy is genuinely addressing the needs of both male and female employees and helping improve their financial skills and wellbeing.”
Johanna recommends employers consider the following factors when developing a financial wellbeing strategy:
- A fair financial wellbeing strategy starts from a position of listening to employees (in order to identify employee needs), and then evolves through continued listening and identification of new financial pain-points.
- An inclusive financial wellbeing strategy knows a ‘one size fits all’ will never result in improved financial wellbeing for all employees, so it takes a targeted approach and supports all different learning styles
- A safe financial wellbeing strategy sees financial wellbeing as a basic human right, remunerates fairly, and puts the necessary education and confidential support systems in place for employees to achieve better financial capability.
- A supportive financial wellbeing strategy sees financial wellbeing as an everyday employee need. It does not take a ‘once and done’ approach but has an ‘open door’ policy throughout the year. It becomes a part of the working culture.
To read more about Punter Southall Aspire’s approach to financial wellbeing click here.
[i] https://www.insuringwomensfutures.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Financial-Wellbeing-A3-2pp-27-09-19-corporate-version.pdf
[ii] https://www.insuringwomensfutures.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/09/Financial-Wellbeing-A3-2pp-27-09-19-corporate-version.pdf