Half of the UK female population is now saving adequately for retirement, representing a 10 percentage point rise year on year, according to research by Scottish Widows.
The Scottish Widows Women and retirement report, which surveyed 5,055 UK adults, also found that the gender gap when it comes to adequate retirement saving is closing, reducing to five percentage points in 2014 from nine in 2013.
The research also found that:
- 62% of working women of all ages approved of auto-enrolment.
- Women who have been auto-enrolled are saving an average of £42.51 a month into a workplace pension, compared to £49.27 for men.
- In the 50-to-64 age group, women are now keeping up with men, with 60% and 62% respectively saving enough for a comfortable retirement.
- In the same age group, women have saved 10.5% of their earnings, on average, compared to 11.2% for men.
- More than one in 10 women (11%) still say they have never thought seriously about paying into a pension and around three in 10 say they never will.
Lynn Graves, retirement expert at Scottish Widows, said: “Women have historically lagged behind men in retirement savings but the recent pensions changes are giving women new opportunities to build a more comfortable retirement.
“A record 14.4 million women are now employed in the UK, an increase of over half a million over the past two years and the highest since records began.
“While it is still early days, the recent reforms are clearly helping more women to put away more for retirement and to recognise the importance of starting this as early as possible.”
