Women less confident than men about their retirement finances
Written in line with our editorial policy.
Only 11 per cent of women feel very confident about their retirement savings, compared to 25 per cent of men, according to a new report.
Schroders Personal Wealth’s ‘Women and Wealth Report 2025’ highlights that the biggest concern for women regarding their retirement is insufficient savings, with 59 per cent citing this as a key issue.
In addition to this, many also struggle with financial knowledge, with a quarter (25%) of women identifying a lack of understanding as a barrier to effective retirement planning.
Women’s experiences with retirement planning are further shaped by gender-specific factors. The report found that:
- Over a third (37 per cent) believe their savings have been negatively impacted by the gender pay gap and career breaks for caregiving responsibilities.
- 18 per cent pointed to differences in financial literacy and confidence.
- 15 per cent noted limited access to employer-sponsored retirement plans.
Katie Nutting, financial planning director at Schroders Personal Wealth, emphasised the importance of financial education and access to advice: “Everyone needs a plan. I don’t believe women are risk-averse, but they like to make informed decisions.
“Therefore, making knowledge available, such as understanding how your investments and the income from them can fall as well as rise and are not guaranteed, as well as having access to quality advice is really important.”
The good news, however, is that 28 per cent of women sought professional guidance when planning for retirement – more than for any other life event covered in the survey.
