Prospect and the Pensions Officer Neil Walsh have for a number of years been publishing a report on the pension gender gap. We are coming up the next publication this summer.
In the meantime I’m pleased to see Prospect’s voice no longer being in the wilderness. This was their reaction to the Pension Commission report this week
Among some of the findings were that women have around half the value of pensions savings when they retire, provision for self-employed people is hopelessly inadequate, and not enough is being done to take account of people with caring responsibilities. Overall there is a worryingly low amount of pensions saving happening meaning a lot of people are going to have inadequate incomes in their retirement.
Steve Thomas, Deputy General Secretary of Prospect, saying:
“The interim report of the Pension Commission highlights the importance and urgency of addressing the problems facing different groups in their retirement.
“The starkest problem is the Gender Pension Gap which Prospect has been reporting on for years with government only recently cottoning on to the seriousness of the situation. With estimates of the gap varying from more than 30% to almost 50% the government must use the findings of this report as a spur to take action.
“There is also a huge problem with self-employment which the system simply doesn’t cater for. Only 17% of the self-employed save into a pension leaving them incredibly exposed later in the life. This is something the yet-to-be-appointed Freelance Champion should make a priority.
“People should not work their whole lives only to retire in poverty. All parties must surely recognise this and agree a long-term plan to ensure everyone can retire on a liveable income.”
Reading the Pension Commission’s report I was reminded of an article from last July as the Commission was announced
Prospect welcomes return of Pensions Commission to tackle ‘pensions timebomb’
The Pensions Commission is being revived by the government to examine why the pensioners of the future are on track to be poorer than the pensioners of today, unless action is taken to change course.
Prospect welcomes that the Pensions Commission, which was first established in 2006 and led the way towards automatic enrolment, will now be tasked with making new recommendations to confront the retirement crisis.
It is hoped that the Commission, which will have input from trade unions, the private sector and independent experts, will be able to report back by 2027.
Mike Clancy, Prospect General Secretary, said:
“The UK economy is sitting on a pension timebomb, with most employees not accruing enough to give them decent retirements, and it is welcome that the government has recognised this and is taking action.
“This review must consider a wide range of options for improving pensions for employees and self-employed workers, including the design of schemes and levels of contribution, and learn from the experience of trade unions who have fought to maintain decent pensions for our members.
“Prospect has been leading the campaign to tackle the Gender Pension Gap, and it is welcome to see the government acknowledging the scale of the problem and including it in this review. There are steps government could take now to tackle this injustice, such as ensuring all maternity leave is fully pensionable, to stop pension gaps opening up between male and female workers.”
A voice in the wilderness for many years
It’s been a voice in the wilderness for many years. This Union that has got little airplay for this work but I hope that now this gap is featuring in the Pension Commission’s thinking, its reportl get a little more coverage.
Here is the link to the latest updated report and an update note put out by Prospect this month
Their 7th Prospect Pension Gender Gap report is published here
