Women in the UK are falling behind on their pension savings. Pensions Age (February 2026) reports that women aged 30 to 45 have ÂŁ36,000 less saved for retirement than men, on average.
Numerous factors are contributing to this gender pension gap. Not only are women paid 14.9% less than men on average, but they’re also more likely to take career breaks due to caring commitments, according to the TUC (March 2023).
However, a study cited by Pensions Age suggests that a “fear of getting it wrong” could also be holding some women back from engaging with retirement planning.
The study found women were more likely to feel anxious, uncertain, or overwhelmed about long-term finances. 40% of women surveyed said they didn’t feel confident about managing or achieving their long-term financial goals.
By boosting your confidence to take control of your retirement planning, you could help close the pension gap and set enough aside for the retirement you’re dreaming of.
Read on to learn four ways to help build your confidence and close the gender pension gap.
1. Build your knowledge to help combat imposter syndrome
It’s hard to feel confident about your finances if you don’t understand how they work. In some cases, you might even be suffering from imposter syndrome, whereby self-doubt holds you back from taking action.
By investing time in learning the basics of how pensions work, you can build your knowledge and gain the confidence to take control of your retirement savings.
Here are some common terms explained to help get your research started:
- Tax relief: the government may top up your pension contributions at your marginal rate of Income Tax, subject to annual limits.
- Salary sacrifice: Paying into a pension through one of these schemes, if offered by your employer, could help reduce your National Insurance contributions.
- Investments: Money held in a pension scheme is typically invested, and growth is exempt from tax.
- Compound returns: Your investment gains are usually reinvested, accelerating your pot’s growth.
- Tax-free lump sum: You can generally take 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum, up to certain limits. The remainder of your pot may be subject to Income Tax when you draw down.
- Normal minimum pension age: Generally, you can’t access your pension until age 55. From April 2028, this will rise to 57.
The rules for growing and drawing down your pension can be complex, with new legislation being introduced periodically. So, it may be helpful to research each of these areas thoroughly to help build your knowledge.
2. Start small and monitor your success
Getting started with retirement planning can be overwhelming. Starting with small steps can help make the process feel more manageable.
For example, you might begin by simply tracking down your pensions and checking how much you currently have saved.
Then, you might choose to start paying in a little bit more each month. If you have multiple pensions, you may also consider bringing your pots together. However, consolidation may not be appropriate for everyone, so it’s important to seek professional advice before transferring funds out of a pension.
Monitoring your success over time can also help to build your confidence. As you watch your pot grow, you may feel encouraged to go further. For example, you could increase your contributions or explore tax-efficient strategies to help accelerate your pot’s growth.
3. Set clear goals to keep you motivated
Giving yourself clear, achievable goals can help keep you motivated in building your retirement savings.
Having a concrete objective in mind can also help you feel more assured that you know what you’re doing.
If you’re unsure of what a sensible goal might look like for you, consider the SMART goal-setting framework:
- Specific: Goals should be clear, specifying how much you want to save or how much more you want to contribute.
- Measurable: Ensure you can track your progress, such as with access to your pension statement.
- Achievable: It’s important for your goals to be realistic. Otherwise, you could feel disheartened if you fall short of your target.
- Relevant: Your goals should be tied to your larger retirement goals. Ideally, you should know how much you’ll need for your ideal retirement lifestyle and set goals to build towards it.
- Timebound: Set a deadline or time frame for achieving your goal, such as saving a certain amount by a specific age or increasing contributions over a particular period.
For example, your goal might be: “Pay £8,000 into my pension by the end of the year, tracking progress monthly.”
As suggested above, it may help to start with smaller goals while you’re building your confidence. For instance, you might set a goal for the year to begin with, before thinking about more long-term goals.
4. Get support from a financial planner
Having a trusted partner to support your retirement planning can give you peace of mind that you’re headed in the right direction.
Pensions can be hugely complex. It’s not as straightforward as putting money in a savings account and hoping for the best.
In particular, the tax rules can be difficult to navigate. Not only do you want to pay in tax-efficiently to boost your pot, but you also want to mitigate your tax liability when you draw down in retirement.
So, while building your knowledge and confidence can be hugely valuable, it may also be worth consulting with a financial planner.
Taking the time to understand your goals, concerns, and financial circumstances, we can create a retirement plan tailored to you. We can calculate how much you could need to save for your ideal retirement, taking inflation and tax into account, and create a plan to help you achieve your goal.
Get in touch
For support in getting your pension savings on track for your ideal retirement, get in touch with our financial planners.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at individuals only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.
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