Almost a quarter (23%) of women aged between 22 and 29 would be frustrated if they could not retire by the time they reached 60, research from Scottish Widows has found.

While some would be discontented if they could not retire by 60, the research also found that many had gaps in their knowledge and were concerned about running out of money.

One in 10 (10%) women in this age cohort had opted out of their employer’s pension scheme, according to Scottish Widows.

Furthermore, more than a third (35%) did not know how much income they would need for a comfortable retirement, while 62% feared completely running out of money in retirement.

Despite these concerns, Scottish Widows highlighted that younger women were missing out on making a difference to their retirement, with 19% of men paying into a pension by the age of 22 compared to 14% of women.

Of the young women who had opted out of being auto-enrolled, 29% said it was because they could not afford to pay regular pension contributions, while 14% would prefer to spend the money now.

Scottish Widows noted that women were saving less than men towards a workplace pension at nearly every point in their lives, but acting early was key as the pension gap also grows with age.

Its research showed that the gender pension gap was 10% at age 25 and 50% at age 50.

“Our research shows a significant gap between the expectations of women, and the action taken to meet those expectations,” commented Scottish Widows managing director, Jackie Leiper.

“Alarmingly, 10% have opted out of their workplace pension, meaning they are missing out on compound interest gains and crucially, the ‘free money’ that comes with employer pension contributions. Opting out of your employer’s pension scheme is tantamount to taking a pay cut.

“The hard truth is, by the time these women reach the end of their working lives, they may face a much harder retirement compared to those who have consistently contributed. Compounded further by often having to take enforced career breaks. The good news for anyone in their 20s though is that time is on their side.

“Urgent action is also required to help tackle the gender pension gap. Education on how to support women with the steps to engage in their pension early is a must, but when combined with policy changes it will play a crucial role in helping all women actively take control of their pensions and start thinking about future savings decisions.”

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