Women Are Still Retiring With Less - But Here's What You Can Do with Susan Hope
Pensions have a reputation for being complicated. They're full of jargon, they feel decades away and, for many people, they're something to deal with later.
But retirement is one of the biggest financial goals most of us will ever have. And despite years of progress, women in the UK are still reaching later life with significantly less financial security than men.
In this week's episode of The Wallet, Emilie Bellet spoke to Susan Hope, Business Development Director at Scottish Widows and one of the leading voices behind the Women and Retirement Report, one of the UK's longest-running pieces of research into women's financial resilience.
The conversation wasn't simply about pensions. It was about why the gender pension gap still exists, what has improved over the past two decades, where the system still falls short, and what women can do to feel more in control of their retirement.
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We've made progress. But we're not where we need to be.
One of the first things Susan pointed out is that the UK pension landscape has changed dramatically over the past 30 years.
Auto-enrolment has transformed pension saving. Millions more people now save into a workplace pension than they did before its introduction, and women in particular have benefited from being automatically enrolled into pension schemes.
But participation isn't the same as engagement.
Scottish Widows' latest research found that 40% of women don't feel confident managing their pension, while half don't consider themselves investors, despite already investing through their workplace pension.
Many of us are saving without really understanding what we're saving into, how much we're contributing or whether we're on track.
The gender pension gap isn't simply about women's choices
Susan shared that a senior figure in the pensions industry recently described the gender pension gap as "a silly statistic", suggesting women simply needed to accept the consequences of choosing more leisure time.
Her response was immediate. The gender pension gap isn't simply the result of individual choices. It's the result of a system that largely rewards long, uninterrupted careers.
For many women, careers don't follow that pattern. Maternity leave, caring responsibilities, part-time work and career breaks all affect pension contributions over time. Susan explained that the divergence often begins when couples decide to have children, yet conversations about family finances rarely extend to pension contributions.
That doesn't remove personal responsibility, but it does provide important context. Understanding the structural barriers helps explain why many women feel they're doing everything "right" while still feeling behind.
Career breaks can have a much bigger impact than many people realise
One of the findings that surprised me most from this year's Women and Retirement Report was around career breaks.
Four in ten women said they hadn't financially planned for taking time away from work, and 51% said they struggled financially while on maternity leave.
Susan explained that most families spend time discussing practical questions such as childcare, nursery choices and who will return to work first. Far fewer discuss what happens to pension contributions during that time.
For example, she highlighted cases where women were receiving incorrect employer pension contributions while on maternity leave because payroll systems weren't calculating contributions correctly.
It's another reminder that retirement planning doesn't begin at 60. It often begins in your twenties and thirties.
Start by understanding what you already have
Rather than encouraging people to immediately contribute more, Susan suggested something much simpler.
Start by answering three questions.
What have I got?
Is it enough?
What can I do next?
She recommends spending an hour taking stock of your retirement picture.
That means checking:
your State Pension forecast
pensions from previous employers
your current workplace pension
One statistic illustrates why this matters.
There are an estimated £31 billion of unclaimed pension savings in the UK. People lose track of pensions after changing jobs, moving house or changing their name.
Before opening another pension, it may be worth making sure you've found all the ones you already own.
Don't ignore your workplace pension
Many people contribute every month without understanding how their pension actually works.
“In any other industry we would love the concept of free money, yet in pensions it is met with scepticism.”
Susan said one of the most common questions she hears is from people who don't know how much they're contributing, how much their employer contributes or where their money is invested.
Her guidance was simple: find out whether your employer matches contributions, and if they do, understand how the matching works.
Many employers will increase their contribution if you increase yours, effectively adding money to your pension that you wouldn't otherwise receive.
Retirement planning isn't just about contributions
Another part of the conversation I really liked was Susan's emphasis on engagement.
Download your pension provider's app.
Check where your money is invested.
Update your nominated beneficiary.
Understand what happens to your pension if something happens to you.
These aren't difficult jobs, but they're the kind of life admin many of us postpone for years.
My biggest takeaway
This conversation reminded me that pensions aren't simply a maths problem. They're shaped by careers, caregiving, relationships, public policy and confidence.
The structural issues behind the gender pension gap won't be solved overnight. But understanding how the system works is one of the most powerful things we can do.
Checking your employer contribution, finding an old pension, understanding your State Pension entitlement or simply logging into your pension for the first time this year may seem like small actions.
Over the course of a working life, they're anything but.
If pensions have always felt confusing or you've been putting them off because they feel overwhelming, I hope this episode helps make them feel a little more accessible. Susan combines decades of experience with practical advice that's grounded in the realities many women face today.
Disclaimer: As always, this episode and the content available on Vestpod.com are for educational purposes only and do not constitute financial advice. The value of investments can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest.
Resources
Connect with Susan on LinkedIn
Women and Retirement Report 2025 by Scottish Widows
