Whilst the Queen might be working until she is physically unable to, new research from Unbiased.co.uk shows that 23% of British women over 50 currently fear they will have no choice because they won’t have sufficient money to retire.
The research also indicates that only 28% of women over 50 know what their pension pot should look like, compared to 45% of their male counterparts.
The problem is partly caused by the gender pension gap and inequality of pay, and partly by the current cost of living crisis.
Currently, 76% of women over 50 don’t believe they will be able to retire at age 66, with 15% over 65 who had planned to retire in the next three to six months, now returning to work. Almost half (48%) of those surveyed said they worried that what they had saved for retirement now wouldn’t cover the cost of living.
The research also showed that:
- Almost half of women over 50 (49%) have changed their food shopping habits, compared to 34% of men
- A third of British women over 50 have loaned money to their children to cover the cost of living
- 77% of British women over 50 have had to dip into their savings to cover the cost of living
Founder and CEO of Unbiased.co.uk Karen Barrett said: “The pension gap is not going to just disappear, nor is the earnings gap.
“Add the fact that women also continue to be the primary group taking a career break to raise children and it’s clear that women should be prioritising financial advice as soon as possible.”
