Number of women without pensions almost doubles in two years
The number of women in the UK without any pension arrangements has almost doubled from 7% in 2017 to just over 13% in 2019, according to research from Aegon.
This figure remains higher than the amount of men (8%) without pension arrangements, with women also more likely to have never estimated their income needs for retirement.
Aegon head of pensions Kate Smith said lack of awareness and limiting auto-enrolment (AE) criteria "are more likely to exclude women" from saving.
While AE has been successful in raising pension participation rates among female members of staff, the Scottish Widows Women and Retirement Report - released earlier this month - showed less than half (46%) of self-employed women are able to save at the recommended minimum rate.
Smith added: "AE needs to be more inclusive [and] a solution should also be found for individuals with multiple jobs, each below £10,000, allowing them to benefit automatically from an employer contribution."
A third (34%) of women also do not know the value of their pension pot - double the number of men.
Despite plenty of attention around gender pay gap issues, Smith said increased awareness "does not seem to have inspired women" to take more interest in pensions.
She added: "Knowledge is key to helping solve the gender pension gap so it's really worrying to see that more than a third of women remain in the dark about what they have saved for retirement, if anything at all.
"Women are putting themselves at further disadvantage [and] that picture includes their pension. Showing an interest in what you have saved in a pension or what you might need could be the difference between the retirement you want and the retirement you get."
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