More than half of retired women rely on state pension, research finds

Aegon’s latest Second 50 research has revealed that 54% of retired women rely on the State Pension as a significant or sole source of income, compared with just 28% of retired men.

The findings highlighted gender disparities in retirement confidence and financial security among UK retirees.

Among working individuals, 38% of women and 33% of men anticipated that the State Pension would play a major role in their retirement income.

Fewer than one in three retired women (32%) felt extremely or very confident about always being able to maintain a comfortable lifestyle in retirement.

In contrast, 46% of retired men expressed this level of confidence.

The report suggested that many women realise the financial realities of retirement too late, leading to lower confidence and reduced financial stability in their later years.

Adding to the issue, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) recently reported on the challenges faced by ‘sandwich carers’ — individuals with caregiving responsibilities for both dependent children and adult relatives.

According to the ONS, 53% of sandwich carers were unable to work at all or as much as they would like due to their caregiving duties, which impacted their ability to save adequately for retirement.

Women accounted for 61% of all sandwich carers, further highlighting the gender imbalance in caregiving roles and its detrimental effect on women’s careers and financial futures.

In response to these findings, Aegon launched The Second 50: Addressing the Gender Pensions Gap, a guide aimed at shedding light on the importance of confidence and security in later life for women.

The guide provides practical tools and strategies to help women better prepare financially and mentally for retirement, addressing the persistent gender gap in pensions.