In a recent survey, we found that while more women save for the short-term, men are more likely to have a pension. So, why the difference?
In a recent survey, we found that while more women save for the short-term, men are more likely to have a pension. So, why the difference?
Well, it could be anything from the difference between the working lives of men and women to old-school views which put the responsibility for pensions on men. Whatever the reason, the fact is that women need to start saving for the future.
There are already moves to get people planning for retirement. The introduction of auto-enrolment (where employees are automatically enrolled into a company pension) is due to start in October of this year. But companies like us still need to do more. We need to help people, particularly women, understand why paying into a pension is a good thing.
Making it real
Our survey showed that one in five women said they didn’t have a company pension because their employer didn’t offer one. Auto-enrolment will go some way to address this. But what about the other four in that five?
Put simply, we need to do all we can to get the message across that retirement planning is important. We need to make real the kind of income women can expect in retirement if they’re not prepared. How? By showing the difference, in terms of cold hard cash, that having a pension can make.
Making it easy
Once women are more aware of what a retirement without adequate saving could look like, we need to make it as easy as possible for them to put their plans in place. To do this, we’ve made pensions simple.
We’ve got everything from a pension calculator to other tools and guides to help. Because when it comes to planning for the future, there’s no time like the present.
What is auto-enrolment?
It's a way of making sure all eligible employees are enrolled into a suitable pension through their employer.
Why is it being introduced?
Auto-enrolment is being introduced because:
- The government estimates about seven million people are not saving at all for retirement, or are not saving enough
- Life expectancy is increasing so people will live longer in retirement and their pension fund needs to be greater to fund this
- The government may not be able to afford to keep state pensions at their current level in the longer term.
Who will be auto-enrolled?
All employers operating in the UK will have to automatically enrol staff into a qualifying pension scheme if they:
- Are aged between 22 and state pension age
- Normally work in the UK
- Earn more than the minimum earnings threshold set by the government
- Are not currently in a qualifying pension scheme.
When will auto-enrolment start?
Auto-enrolment will be phased in from 1 October 2012, with the larger employers going first. Each employer will have a date by which they have to meet the new regulations.
For more information about pensions, visit www.aviva.co.uk/pensions-and-retirement