Women retire with 67% less than men

Research by experts at Money Guru have found that women on average retire with 67% less than man. With the gender pay gap being a stark issue in the public eye that has been ongoing for many years, it does seem as if this has no sign of slowing down and improving anytime soon.

Because of this lack of investment spent in this area, it is meaning that there are constantly a substantial amount of financial pressures on women looking to retire.

The potential reasoning behind this gap could be due to the new system of average pay-out, which is £125.98 for women, and £153.86 for men. This results in women being left with £29,000 less than men over a 20-year retirement plan.

Flora Maudsley-Barton, Managing Director of Parsonage Financial Planning commented on this gap, saying “The gender gap, although narrowing in many areas (such as pay) is still prevalent in 2018 and is an issue particularly when it comes to investment, with women typically receiving less investment income from property, dividends and savings interests to name a few.

She went on to further discuss the recent studies initiated, saying “Research would show that one such reason that the gender investment gap exists is that women are typically seen as being ‘risk-averse’. This outlook is quite simply outdated, and women now make up around 45% of investors, meaning that they have a huge stake in the market. Opportunity is equal and there is no real reason for a gender gap to exist in these circumstances and by shining a light on the issue, hopefully, we are closer to resolving it.”

In addition to this disparity in pay, studies initiated in April 2019 found that only 28% of women feel comfortable with investing their money in comparison to 45%Q of men. 13% of the women who contributed to this study felt like they had a good level of knowledge when it came to investing in products. With 52% of women never having owned or contributing anything to an investment product. A study commenced by Britain thinks in 2016, found that the reasoning behind this could be because a number of women don’t feel like this type of investment isn’t for them. As in the report they state “Women tend to see investing as ‘not for them’. Instead, it is thought to be the preserve of ‘older, wealthier men”

Deborah Vickers, Channel Director at Money Guru, commented on this recent research, saying “These stats show that there is a still long way to go to empower women when it comes to their finances, especially if it is leaving them worse off in later life. Aversion to risk is something that we need to address across the board and in particular when it comes to supporting women to be more confident when it comes to financial investments.”

When looking at what women can do themselves to close this gap, is to consider making an investment, Flora Maudsley-Barton, Managing Director of Parsonage Financial Planning says “Whether with property or shares, it’s important to utilise the resources available when it comes to financial planning to go ahead and do it. Having a proper financial plan in place can help to achieve the maximum outcome from any investment no matter if you are male or female.”