Age Concern has drawn attention to a new Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) report which shows that women lose out on a comfortable retirement pension because they put their families' needs first and pensions second.
According to the report, women believe taking care of their families' short-term needs is more important than their own long-term financial requirements.
The problem is aggravated because they often work part-time or take low-paid jobs, making it more difficult for them to make adequate provision for their retirement pensions.
Age Concern's director general Gordon Lishman said this report, Financial Plans for Retirement: Women's Perspectives I, "rightly highlights the particular problems facing women who are trying to build up retirement income".
He noted that the pensions system is more than 50 years old and provides obstacles for those whose working patterns do not fit traditional moulds.
"As a result millions of women who have been carers, full-time mothers and low-paid workers, now face poverty in retirement," Mr Lishman commented.
He said that only 16 per cent of newly-retired women have a full Basic State Pension on the basis of their own National Insurance contributions. The figure for men is 78 per cent.
Mr Lishman warned that the pensioners of the future face the same fate.
"Our research shows that a third of young women expect to rely on their partner for a pension. The government has already called the problem a 'national scandal'.
"Creating a pension system that works for women must be at the heart of the government's pension reform," Mr Lishman urged.
Age Concern comments on DWP report on women's retirement pension
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Age Concern comments on DWP report on women's retirement pension
Fri, 01 Jul 2005
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