Building women’s confidence to live their best second lives

We are living longer lives, with a greater number of years in retirement. Across Phoenix Group, we’re working on financial inclusion as a core pillar in our sustainability programme – retirement planning is increasingly coming to the fore. For Standard Life, our key focus under this programme is women. 

Our research shows that women are being left behind in the retirement journey. Women are less likely to keep up to date with their pension and less confident that they’re making the most of it. This inevitably impacts women’s confidence in the retirement planning journey which leads them to under-perform on all three retirement-readiness indicators social, mental, and financial preparedness. 

Here are some of the key insights highlighting the confidence gap regarding pensions and retirement between men and women.

44%
of women vs 35% of men are feeling scared/anxious thinking about retirement

23%
of women vs 40% of men feel financially prepared for retirement 

2 in 5
women are concerned they won't be able to retire, vs 33% of men

 

Source: Bringing retirement into focus, 2023. Standard Life. 

The views shared on this podcast are the speaker’s own and do not represent financial advice.

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How else do we support women?

As retirement specialists, we’re keenly aware of how personal each journey to and through retirement is. Our research shows us that the belief in retirement planning is there for women, so we, as industry leaders need to work on building their confidence and breaking down the engagement barriers. 

The working life of a woman, on average, is marked with milestones shaping their journey to retirement. Childbirth, child-rearing, and caring obligations will pull and push them in different directions at certain points. 

Evidently, women need to start making some space in this hectic agenda for retirement planning. It could be as simple as starting with the Second Life Questionnaire to figure out how they’d like to spend their retirement. 

Looking for more information?

At Standard Life, we’ve built a platform that helps to re-frame retirement, Second Life. By connecting people, men, or women, to the potential of their future selves, we can begin to have more rounded conversations on how to get there.

  • Your Second Life, your way

    Visit our retirement hub, where experts share experience and offer retirement planning advice.

  • How much money do I need to save for retirement?

    Our retirement calculator tool helps you think about the life you want in retirement and start making financial decisions that support your future lifestyle.