by The Beat The Gap tool – which has been developed by communications company Adam&EveDBB with data modelled by Frontier Economics – is designed to raise awareness among female savers as to how they are affected by the gender disparity in pension savings and demonstrate how the gap could potentially develop over the course of their working lives.
The tool uses data from the Office for National Statistics on average income and working patterns, combined with data from the provider’s annual women in retirement report, to develop understanding of the gender pensions gap.
The tool, which asks users to answer a number of life questions, will calculate the size of the pension gap women could potentially experience, alongside the moments where their outcomes are likely to differ from their male counterparts, including going on maternity leave to have children. The tool also offers women tips on how to navigate these challenges to help them get an advantage on their retirement savings.
Analysis conducted by Scottish Widows showed the gap between the average woman’s pension, compared to the average man’s, grows from £100 to almost £100,000 between the ages of 22 and 65.
The tool has been launched as part of a wider campaign for International Women’s Day (IWD) (8 March), in collaboration with Zenith UK, as part of the provider’s commitment to improve the retirement outcomes for women.
The campaign will also see Scottish Widows collaborate with social media site TikTok and launch a takeover drive on the platform to raise awareness of the gender pensions gap among savers in the workforce, particularly for those in their 20’s and 30’s as the provider said workers in this age group stand the best chance to avoid falling into gender pensions gap. It added by increasing awareness of the gap on such platforms, it can help young women feel increasingly more informed about the financial risks they are likely to face in the future.
Scottish Widows head of marketing Lindsay Montgomery said: “Scottish Widows has a longstanding commitment to helping women plan for a secure financial future. Highlighting the gender pension gap and giving women the information they need to avoid it is at the core of this 2024 IWD campaign.
“Our new Beat The Gap tool shows when and how the gap emerges and offers personalised tips designed to improve women’s outcomes in retirement – from saving more in their 20’s through to talking about pensions in divorce.”
Adam&EveDBB planning director Sarah Morning commented: “So much evidence shows that life events impact women’s financial futures more significantly than men’s and yet most financial services communications are of the one-size-fits-all variety. It’s vital that women – and in particular younger women – are made aware of the risks and pitfalls they face and what they can do ahead of time to lessen those risks.”
Zenith UK planning director Anna Mere added: “We’re really excited for this iteration of the IWD campaign, with the powerful message directed at the younger generation this year. It marks a shift in focus for us, both with a different target audience as well as aiming to provide actionable insights with the Beat the Gap tool. We’ve done some brilliant work together to really understand where the gender pension gap starts to widen, and how we approach the new challenges, and can’t wait for others to see the data and take action themselves too.”
