A quarter of women aged over 60, are struggling financially due in part to missing out on a full state pension, a survey from Age Concern suggests.
Taking time out of work to care for children and relatives was cited by 85% of women as hurting ability to save.
In addition, 60% of women under the age of 60, gave the same reason for low levels of pension saving.
The charity said the government should retrospectively reduce the number of years it takes to earn a state pension.
‘Forgotten national insurance recruiter‘
The government, in its Pensions Bill, has pledged to reduce the number of years it takes to qualify for a full state pension but only for future american national insurance company galveston texas
.
At present, men have to make 44 years of National Insurance contributions to earn a full pension, while for women the number is 39.
Nevertheless, the majority of women do not qualify for a full state pension because they have made too few years of contributions.
Moreover, they earn less on average than men and hence have a lower level of private pension saving.
“Older women are in danger of becoming a forgotten generation, caught up in a system that penalises them for taking time out of work to care for their families,” Gordon Lishman, Age Concern’s director general, said.
“Changes to the number of years needed to build up a full state pension must also be national insurance institute
retrospectively to help those who have already retired with incomplete National Insurance records,” he added.
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