‘I don’t know what the future holds and it’s scary,’ says Minreet Kaur, a 42-year-old from West London, who’s not sure if she’ll ever be able to stop working.

‘I haven’t saved anything for retirement and I’m living with my parents in their 70s who use their pension to support me, which isn’t right.’

Minreet’s situation is not unique. New research shown to Metro.co.uk by My Pension Expert reveals the cost of living crisis is disproportionately impacting women’s finances and their ability to save for the future.

Almost two-thirds (61%) of women say the spiralling cost of living has made retirement seem impossible, compared to 49% of men.

Meanwhile, 40% of men are confident they will retire at their desired age, but this is only true for 29% of women.

Just 26% of women say they have the savings and plans in place to sustain their current lifestyle into retirement – for men, this is 42%.

The situation get bleaker when ethnicity is taken into account, as retirement company Scottish Widows found 21% of Black women are ineligible for auto-enrolment pension schemes as they do not meet the £10,000 earning criteria. Only 4% of white women are in this boat.

The company also found women in the UK earn almost £10,000 less than men on average, which has a knock-on impact on pensions.

Currently, 1.4 million women in the UK earn less than £100 a week through the state pension.

‘I don’t know if I can retire as I’ve got nothing to fall back on,’ says Minreet.

‘I just feel there is no support for people like me who are contracting – we don’t get a pension that companies pay into.

‘I am struggling to break even in my current job and I feel really sad thinking about the future. Things feel out my control.’

There are a multitude of reasons why women struggle to save, with the gender pay gap, disproportionate care responsibilities and the pandemic hitting ‘female industries’ the hardest all contributing factors.

Minreet doesn’t have a partner and says being single, with nobody to share money with or plan retirement alongside, doesn’t help.

‘I worry about ending up on my own working for the rest of my life,’ she adds.

‘I would love to retire if I could by the age of 50, but right now I’m trying to save up as much as I can. I’ve not been away since 2019.

‘I feel so unsettled and uncertain and I’m losing sleep over it.’

Lily Megson, policy director at My Pension Expert, says the gender gap has ‘loomed over the pension sector for decades’.

‘As the cost-of-living crisis bites, this deeply embedded systemic issue is becoming more acute,’ she says.

‘Indeed, our research indicates that women are feeling as though their future finances are spiralling out of control.  

‘Pension gender inequality is an incredibly complex issue – there is no “quick fix” solution.

‘Action is needed to eradicate gender bias across the board, such as ensuring the affordability of childcare and reducing the earnings requirement for auto-enrolment into workplace pensions. Such change will take time.’

Women nearing and at retirement age don’t have time, though. And it’s causing concerns for those planning for their futures, too.

Jessica Barclay, 36, from Newbury, is already feeling the pinch. ‘Savings are now at minus and each month is an overall negative,’ she says.

‘I think I have just accepted that I will likely work until I die in some capacity or other.

‘If I’m lucky, I might end up living with my daughter to offer her some free childcare in return for free housing. I can easily see retirement becoming a luxury like travel.

‘Some will fly first class and stay five star. Some will still go but on a tiny budget and others won’t even have a valid passport because any travel seems so highly unlikely.’

She plans to make her career ‘care home friendly’, so she can work until ‘death’.

Samantha Jayne, 51, a spiritual business coach from Wiltshire, lacks confidence when it comes to savings – especially as a single mum to two children.

‘I don’t see myself as having a retirement age. I will simply slow down and work less, save more and make choices as life unfolds,’ she says.

‘I have resided myself to the fact a pension now seems somewhat a luxury.

‘Thankfully I love what I do and am moving the business in directions that will create me freedom in years to come.’

There’s also the issue of retiring ‘just about,’ versus doing it comfortably.

Polly Arrowmsith, 55, from London, was looking forward to retiring, but now is plagued with worry.

‘I lost my business five years ago, and with that, lost my property portfolio of nine properties,’ she says. She lost around £10million in total.

‘If I sit and think about it, I can worry. 

‘But I have a few things that most people don’t have. I had a business that turned over £60million in 15 years. I made money quickly before, so I know I can replicate that.

‘I am also a qualified accountant, so numbers never scare me. I’m looking at several new start-ups to create rapid income and capital value.’

In one of these start ups, the 40 and 50 year olds she’s working alongside refer to the business as their joint ‘retirement plan’. It’s a concern on everyone’s minds.

Polly, like many, believes ‘the government will not look after us’, and so she has been researching all of the ways she can make retirement alone.

While we all struggle, as with many things, it’s women that will face the harshest terms.

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The Cost of Being a Woman

You’re reading The Cost of Being a Woman, Metro.co.uk‘s ongoing series investigating how the cost of living crisis is disproportionately impacting women.

For more stories, visit our dedicated Cost of Being a Woman hub.

Get in touch at [email protected] to share your experience.

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