Women face £57,000 pension shortfall – however you may increase pot

Jun 06, 2023 at 12:09 AM

Women of their late forties are dealing with a staggering £57,000 pension shortfall in comparison with males, new calculations from interactive investor present.

This comes following new data launched by the DWP that demonstrates the gender pension wealth hole between women and men has hit 35 %, whereas the hole between these eligible for auto-enrolment rests at 32 %.

Contrastingly, the whole pension contribution hole between women and men in 2021 was 17 % at £52billion for girls, in contrast with £62.6billion for males.

While pension wealth for the common girl elevated from £50,000 to £94,000 by the minimal non-public pension age between 2008 to 2020, the figures don’t fairly correspond with these for males.

According to interactive investor, pension wealth for the common man rose from £85,000 to £145,000 by the minimal non-public pension age throughout the identical interval.

Its calculations present that if ladies’s pension wealth have been to extend on the identical fee as males aged between 35 to 49, ladies’s pots would attain £80,960 between age 45 to 49 – in comparison with £46,000 in actuality.

Experts at interactive investor attribute this £57,960 common shortfall for girls of their 40s to a “motherhood penalty”, as childcare prices and the gender pay hole kick in.

Alice Guy, head of pensions and financial savings at interactive investor, commented: “Women have a pension shortfall of £57,000 by the time they reach their late 40s as the motherhood penalty kicks in, compared to if their pension wealth increased at the same rate as men.

“Women have lower pension wealth than men at every stage of the journey, but a small gap often becomes an unbridgeable chasm for women in their 40s as a modest eight percent gender pension gap increases to 40 percent for women aged between 40 to 44 and 48 percent for women aged 50 to 54.”

Mr Guy stated that the motherhood penalty turns into obvious as ladies typically “bear the brunt” of childcare and family chores” and usually tend to work part-time of their 40s.

She continued: “If women have children, the odds are stacked against them as some of the highest childcare costs in Europe combined with an increasing gender pay gap, make it harder for them to build pension wealth.”

However, whereas saving can add extra strain to pockets, Ms Guy stated even “small extra amounts” paid right into a pension add up over time.

Ms Guy stated: “If you’re older and your kids have flown the nest, then it can make sense to up your pension contributions. Contributing an extra £200 per month from the age of 50 could add up to £64,104 by the time you reach 67, assuming five percent investment growth.”

Due to pension contributions being tax-free, that £200 per thirty days will value fundamental fee taxpayers £160 after tax.

Ms Guy continued: “If one partner earns significantly more than the other and has a much bigger pension pot, it’s worth considering paying extra into the pension of the lower-earning partner. When you come to draw your pension, it’s not tax efficient for one partner to earn a lot more than the other and you could end up with a much bigger tax bill as a couple.

“Non-earners can pay up to £3,600 into their pension each year, including tax relief and earners can pay into up to 100 percent of their earnings, capped at £60,000 per tax year.”