Claer Barret

Alexandra Miles

One woman – Alexandra Miles – inequality and sex

This year , one of the first articles I read after coming out of hospital was by a group of women. You can read it from this link.

https://www.theactuary.com/2024/11/08/levelling-how-close-pensions-gap

It is being publicised again as part of the Pension Awareness Week. It talks about why their is pension inequality among women and is by three young women. If you do nothing more than read it this weekend, I reckon you’ll have gone some way to understanding the pension inequality gap between men and women and other groups too. This chart which takes a bit of studying shows which types of people tend to have the “big pots” and in future “bigger pensions”.

Alexandra Miles points out in writing the article that the gap between men and women widens when the household is “lone parent – dependent children” (low pot value) and “couple-non dependent children” – high pot value.

Alexandra asks questions about whether we think it fair that women (it is generally women who swap work and pension saving for bringing up children) deserve better pensions.

There are of course other groups who do better in pension inequalities (white v Asian/black, employed/self employed). I see this work as fundamental to the work of the Pension Commission over the next 16 months.

Alexandra Miles’ article closes with a lament. She sees the return of the concept of the “tradwife”

The ‘Tradwife’
The trending ‘tradwife’ movement encourages women to embrace homemaking, child-rearing and submission to their husbands. The concept is gaining popularity on social media platforms such as TikTok, Instagram and YouTube, especially among younger women.

According to Ipsos’s Global Trends Survey 2024, more than a quarter of respondents in Great Britain think a woman’s primary role is as a mother and wife, with even higher numbers agreeing in the US.

This shift is not only fuelling debates around feminism and gender roles but is also likely to exacerbate the pensions gap. As populist narratives gain traction across Europe, promoting traditional gender roles and the ‘tradwife’, it’s likely that more women will be in financially vulnerable positions in future.

 

A second woman – Claer Barrett – inequality and age.

Claer Barrett, like Alexandra is not a “tradwife”. Like Alexandra  she references social media (and for the younger TikTok) as exploring pensions in new ways. She has an article in today’s FT which is proper (it being the end of Pension Awareness Week)

Since launching on TikTok a year ago, Scottish Widows has notched up 300mn views. Short videos about pensions get through to people in a way a dry annual statement cannot.

For Claer the inequality is between generations and most specifically (she being definitely Gen X) the inequality between youngsters and the Boomers who came before.

These (short videos)  may inspire younger generations to invest and engage more, but as voters become more aware of the benefits, any big rule changes in the Budget risk destroying trust in the pensions system.

But Claer sees the inequality as worst for the Gen X generation

While getting on in years, Gen X are bizarrely the generation that knows the least about pensions. The baby boomers benefited from gold-plated pensions that provided an income for life, but half of Gen X-ers say they have no idea how they will manage their pension in retirement, according to a poll carried out by the investment platform Interactive Investor.

Half of Gen X didn’t know what level of pension savings they’d need to fund a comfortable retirement, and four in 10 had no idea what they were on track to have amassed by then.

The embarrassment of being a “white male boomer”.

I guess I got lucky being all three and yes I have a prosperous pension situation.

Most importantly, I have no inclination to stop working, which at 63 is a good thing (pension wise).

Alexandra Miles may look at me as a lucky male and Claer Barrett may look at me as a lucky boomer and both may point out that I haven’t been self employed since I was in my thirties and have been white throughout.

But I am campaigning for better pensions for all those groups highlighted by Alexandra and Claer. I have been wearing my pension awareness badge this week, mainly around pension people, many investment people at my conference asked what it was.