Yahoo Finance Women want to retire later, men won't downsize: take the retirement test now, before it's too late
Everyone has their own vision of what they want retirement to look like but men and women have particularly differing views, new research has revealed, which could put couples on a collision course in later life.
Men typically want to retire earlier, figures from a survey conducted by Opinium for fund shop Hargreaves Lansdown have shown. More than half of men planned to retire before age 65 compared with just 36pc of women.
Since 2015 the “pension freedom” rules have given savers a lot more choice over when to finish work, by allowing them to access their private pensions from the age of 55. Women usually have smaller private savings and rely more heavily on the state pension, which is only available at 66 at the earliest, which perhaps explains why they favour a longer working life.
Women planned to delay the end of work until an older age but tended to prefer a phased retirement, allowing them to move to part-time work from age 50, the survey found.
Once retired, men were less likely to downsize to a smaller home, with one in two ruling it out completely. However, 60pc of women said they would consider making the move to free up cash.
Nathan Long, of Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “While the gender pension gap is well-known, there is also a wide disparity in how men and women are planning for their retirements. Some couples may find that their retirement plans are not compatible, and their aspirations for later life are worlds apart.”
There is a large difference between the amount of money men and women manage to save up in pension wealth. Millions of women miss out on years of pension savings while caring for children or their elderly family.
Women have between 25pc and 45pc less in their pension pots at retirement than men, according to Barnett Waddingham, a consultancy. The gender gap begins to diverge most after the age of 32 with men contributing up to £1,500 more every year on average.
Research from Fidelity, an investment firm, found that just 22pc of British women said they were on track to be able to afford a comfortable retirement. The average woman’s pension wealth over age 55 was £70,000, which would pay out £3,200 per year, according to Fidelity. This would cover only the most basic of needs when combined with the state pension.
More women than men want to travel and look after grandchildren while men said they planned to pass their days by studying, playing sports and watching television.
This could cause a mismatch between the amount of income a husband and wife may need in retirement, warned Mr Long.
There are 10 questions you can ask your partner to check that your retirement hopes and dreams don’t clash, according to Hargreaves Lansdown. Here’s the test:
