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Pension tips that could help women make more of their money
Whilst the gender pension gap isn’t a simple issue to fix, there are lots of things women can do right now that could help them feel more in control of their pension savings.
Check if your pension savings are on track
Arming yourself with knowledge is a good way to help you make more confident decisions. So if you’re unsure if you’re saving enough, finding out how much you have in your pension pot (or pots) now could help you understand if you’re on track for the retirement you want.
Our pension calculator is a good place to start, and could give you a clearer picture of what adjustments you may need to make to meet your retirement goals, such as increasing your monthly pension contributions or topping up your pension pot with a one-off payment.
Stop and think before you consider cutting back on pension payments
20% more women than men say they would cut back on their pension contributions as a way to deal with rising costs, according to our research.
If you’re considering stopping your pension payments, it’s important to consider the impact that this may have on your future plans. Stopping payments means you may miss out on pension contributions from your employer, as well as tax relief on pension payments from the government. This would leave you with a smaller pension pot to retire with, meaning you may need to work for longer.
If you need to cut back, think about reducing your payments, rather than stopping them altogether. That way, you can still benefit from tax relief or employer contributions.
You can find more information about why keeping up with your pension payments is a good idea in our article: ‘Five reasons why you shouldn’t stop paying into your pension plan’.
See if you can get more from your workplace pension plan
If you’re enrolled in a workplace pension, then your employer has to pay in a minimum of 3% of your qualifying earnings into your pension pot.
But some employers may pay in more than the required minimum as part of their benefits package. In some cases, they may match your contributions up to a certain percentage – which could significantly boost the amount going into your pension pot. So it’s worth checking if your employer offers this.
You can also read our ‘What is a workplace pension?’ guide to learn the basics on workplace pension plans.
