Women are very comfortable talking about many “P-word” topics: their partners, parenting and parties and women are even getting better at talking about that promotion at work! But bring up pensions and the conversations often come to a grinding halt. Ask a woman how she will spend her retirement years and she can tell you all about the great plans she has, but not how these plans will be funded. Given that a 65 year old women retiring today can expect to live until age 86, that’s a 21 year retirement to fund!
A survey (May 2015) on peoples attitudes to pensions conducted by the Irish Association of Pension Funds shows that 55% of women believe that they have not saved enough to give themselves a reasonable standard of living in retirement while over 70% of women surveyed would be in favour of the Government introducing a mandatory pension scheme to encourage more people to save for their retirement.
So if women would be prepared to save into a pension if it was mandatory, why are they so reluctant to do something about it themselves? A bit like the spring clean, it’s one of those things women have been meaning to get around to but never do!
There are many reasons why women do not save into a pension – they are in part time or short term contracts making it difficult for them to contribute regularly to pensions, they take time out of the workplace to care for children or they are self employed. But the top reason women cite for not contributing to a pension is affordability.
An IBEC survey (October 2016) found that 71% of companies plan to increase basic pay in 2017. So ladies, if you’re in line for a pay rise this year, do yourself a favour and use the extra money to start your pension today. Talk to your partner, family and friends about how they are planning to fund their retirement; speak to your employer about the pensions they have available to you or talk to an impartial financial advisor, like Harvest, who will put you in the right direction.
At Harvest, half of our financial advisors are women so we really understand your needs and your circumstances.
Harvest Financial Services Limited is owned by ILGWM Limited (a subsidiary of Irish Life Group), which is part of the Great-West Lifeco Group of companies.
Harvest Financial Services Limited is regulated by the Central Bank of Ireland. Registered in Ireland No.137567.
Registered Office: Block 3, The Oval, Shelbourne Road, Ballsbridge, Dublin 4. Postcode: D04 T8F2