Women ‘put less away for retirement’

WOMEN may be living longer than men but according to the latest research they are putting less away for retirement.

The research, conducted by New Ireland, the Bank of Ireland life assurance subsidiary, also showed that more than half of all women in the workforce have no pension provision, with single women showing the lowest pension coverage at just 41.2%.

Just one-in-five New Ireland personal pension customers are women.

The results also revealed that the average male customer is saving 720 a year more than their female counterparts into their pension plan.

At retirement, the projected pension fund is likely to be €28,750 higher on average for males than for females.

The research was conducted among a sample of 13,500 of New Ireland’s personal pension customers, a package mainly aimed at the self-employed.

Head of pension sales at New Ireland, James Skehan, said: “Improved quality of life and continuing medical advances mean we are now living much longer. The net result is that we are going to spend more time in retirement, approximately one-third of our adult lives.

“The findings of our research on our own pension customers raises concerns, particularly for women. They have a longer life expectancy than men and therefore will need to save more during their working years in order to fund adequately for their retirement years.”

He added: “Individuals with no retirement savings plan in place should look to start saving into a pension fund as a priority.

“Almost 90% of the Irish population believe that the State pension, at just €179 per week, is not enough to meet their needs in retirement. Yet only half of us have put plans in place to provide for our future once we retire.”

Mr Skehan said the earlier you start saving the better: “The cost of funding for your retirement doubles every seven years. In addition, by delaying saving towards your retirement, you’re missing out on the growth which your investment fund could be building up. This can be significant.”