Up to nine million women are at serious risk of facing poverty during retirement because they are failing to save enough into a pension, a report claimed yesterday.
The Association of British Insurers estimates that 4.5 million working women are not putting any money aside towards retirement, while a further 4.5 million are failing to save enough.
In its report, The Gender Pensions Gap, the group said women were disadvantaged compared with men when it came to making provisions for their retirement.
The study found that 35% of women did not belong to a pension scheme, compared with only 25% of men. Among women who were saving, more than half contributed less than (pounds) 100 a month to a pension. At the same time, just 9% of women received a contribution from their employer of more than 5% of their wages, compared with 15% of men.
The report added that women also earned less than men and were more likely to have a broken work record as a result of taking time off to look after children or elderly relatives. Overall, 83% of retired women had a total pension income of less than (pounds) 1000 a month, compared with just 58% of men.
The report put forward a series of measures to help increase pension saving among women.
The ABI said that as about 63% of women's retirement income came from the state, a decent state pension would provide a solid foundation on which to build private saving.
The report added that the complicated means-testing system also was in need of reform as it made it difficult for people to decide how much they needed to save.
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern England, said: ''It is time that the government acted and read-dressed the balance so that women are not punished be-cause of their caring responsibilities or because of the industries they work in.''
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