One third (34 per cent) of women do not have a pension plan, compared to just 17 per cent of men, research from Willis Owen has revealed.

Of the women without a pension, 41 per cent had no intention of starting one, whilst 17 per cent said that they do not plan to start saving into a scheme until they were at least 40 years old and 9 per cent did not envisage paying into one until they were over 50.

The research found that the corresponding figures for men were all lower, at 34 per cent, 13 per cent and 4 per cent respectively.

Commenting on the findings, Willis Owen head of personal investing, Adrian Lowcock, said: “It’s alarming to see so many people without pension plans, or who have stopped paying into them.

“Not only are they missing out on generous tax benefits provided by saving into pension schemes, the reality for many of them is that they will never be able to stop work and enjoy a retirement.”

Respondents without a pension were most likely to plan on relying on the state pension, with 65 per cent citing it as part of their safety net.

Thirty-four per cent said that they had other personal savings to rely on, 21 per cent had access to partner’s savings and 15 per cent had inheritance to fall back on.

Nearly one fifth (17 per cent) claimed that they will never be able to stop working.

Willis Owen also found that 35 per cent of respondents had stopped paying into a scheme in the past 12 months, with 28 per cent of those saying it was because they could no longer afford it.

The second most common reason cited for people leaving a scheme was that they would rather use the money elsewhere, while 14 per cent said that they would prefer to use it help them on the property ladder.

Lowcock added: “It’s understandable that people are opting to focus on their financial needs today, such as getting on the property ladder, as opposed to financing their needs in retirement when they stop work.”

The findings are from interviews with 1,070 UK adults in June 2019.

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