Forty-six per cent of women are opting to hold their long-term savings in a savings account rather than more tax-friendly options such as a pension or ISA wrappers, Scottish Friendly has revealed.

The firm’s family finance tracker found that this compares to nearly 39% men who put their savings into a savings account.

In a survey of 2,600 UK adults, a third (33%) of men are opting to use pension, compared to just a quarter (24%) of women.

The survey respondents defined long-term savings as money being put away to be used in more than five years' time for purposes such as retirement, a deposit on a property or starting a business.

Scottish Friendly said that although the Bank of England’s base rate remained at 5% in September, it could still be cut gradually before the end of the year is out, increasing the chances that compounded inflationary drag is likely is disproportionately negatively impact women.

As a result, the real term value of money held in savings accounts will be eroded with increasing pace with each cut.

Savings specialist at Scottish Friendly, Kevin Brown, said: "Women are already having to work harder for their money so it would be a travesty that they then lose out on further building up their hard-earned savings through tax-efficient wrappers and jeopardising future plans as rate cuts start biting.

"Whatever sits at the root of what appear to be gender choices, as an industry and as a socially responsible modern mutual, we need to ensure parity of savings’ growth opportunities."

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