Ms Robertson starts with the basics, such as checking national insurance payments are up to date and estimating retirement dates.
“We need to make sure that women are looking to their financial future,” suggests Ms Robertson.
“Even doing something as simple as downloading an app is a start, but an adviser can give proper advice on saving levels, investment options and charges, and show how even little changes can make a big difference.”
Tsitsi Mutiti, investment manager at Charles Stanley, says advisers needed to enable women to feel comfortable about talking about money and retirement at every step in their lives.
Source: Department for Work and Pensions
“Given our very busy lives and the amount of information our brains have to process in a day, it is important that advisers produce literature that is easy to understand and also encourages individuals to take action,” points out Ms Mutiti.
It is not that women do not understand money, according to Ms Robertson.
“In 85 per cent of households, women look after the finances,” she notes. “This means budgeting for school trips, groceries, holidays…”
It is more a question of prioritising. Women who are worried about how to feed their children are not likely to be focused on how they will provide for themselves in 40 years’ time.
Breaking the mould
Women are also more likely to be self-employed, adds Ms Robertson, which means auto-enrolment does not apply.
“When running their own business, women are more likely to reinvest any profits into it rather than take money out to save for their retirement,” she says.
There is hope that this pattern might soon be broken, however.
Julie Mitchell, wealth planner at Independent Women, says a generation of younger women are keen to be informed about their financial future.
“This generation has grown up with ownership and accountability, much of which is the impact of social media’s recommendations culture,” acknowledges Ms Mitchell.
“These women in their 20s and early 30s want a career, independence and to provide for themselves.”
Ms Mitchell, who produces a regular newsletter for this group, says she has been surprised in the number of enquiries these women have made, looking to secure their financial future.
“Millennial women want security, control and options,” she explains.
Elizabeth Pfeuti is a freelance financial journalist
