Poll shows 43% of women don’t have pension

ALMOST half of women surveyed said they do not have a pension.

According to a Friends First survey, 43% of women said they did not have a pension plan, compared with just 30% of men.

More than half of respondents said their key financial priority is to reduce or manage debt, while two out of five consumers said they want to start a savings fund.

There was a 5% increase on last year in the number of people who have pensions, but a quarter of people don’t know what kind of pension cover they have.

Almost a third of Irish people who have a pension contribute between 6% and 10% of their salary to their pension annually, with men contributing more than women. The survey said that 35% of Irish men contribute between 6% and 15%, in comparison to 24% of Irish women.

One-in-four said they didn’t know how much they contributed, as it was automatically deducted from their salary.

Pension and investment manager with Friends First, Simon Hoffman said: “This research indicates that there is a real inequality between the sexes when it comes to pension provision. Our survey reveals that women are less well-informed and therefore at a greater risk of not providing adequately for their retirement.

“This inequality is a cause for concern and points to a need for greater education among female workers.”

According to the research, most consumers are in favour of an SSIA-type pension scheme over a tax benefit scheme.

Three quarters said the introduction of an SSIA-type scheme would encourage them to either start a pension or increase their current contributions.

“It is clear that perceived complexity remains a significant barrier to increasing private pension provision.

“The recently-published National Pensions Framework Strategy document gives us an opportunity to address this in a significant manner,” said Mr Hoffman.