Pension News Women Missing Out On Pension Benefits

Written by Editorial Team

15 August 2006

Approximately six in ten British women are not contributing to a pension fund and therefore losing out on the tax relief associated with specialist retirement packages.

New research from HSBC suggests that while people are becoming more aware of the benefits of pensions and retirement funds, a high number of women still do not take advantage of the range of products on offer.

Nearly half (44 per cent) of women wrongly thought you could only make pension contributions if you were at work and almost a quarter (24 per cent) put their apathy down to the fact that they were not working, or only working part-time.

“While there has been some improvement in the level of understanding around pensions, the number of women delaying contributions or not contributing to a pension at all is worrying,” said Ian Martin, head of pensions and retirement income at HSBC Life.

“This will seriously compromise their final retirement fund, particularly for those women who stop making contributions for a number of years while raising their children at home,” he added.

To read more about pensions, click here.