Royal London has welcomed the Government’s pledge to support women to stay in work with the creation of the first-ever independent Menopause Advisory Group, highlighting the effect leaving work early can have on women’s pension savings.
The Menopause Advisory Group will work with industry leaders on how employers can support women with menopause in the workplace.
Figures from the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development show that 53% of women have not been able to attend work due to their symptoms, with 10% leaving work for good.
Clare Moffat, head of technical and marketing compliance at Royal London, said: “Businesses need to create a supportive workplace environment, which in turn will be key to retaining talent in the workforce. Currently, too many women are considering leaving employment due to menopause symptoms, which can have a significant impact on their overall finances, and particularly their retirement savings.”
Analysis by Royal London found women leaving their job because of menopause symptoms could be £126,000 worse off in retirement. It used an example of a 50-year-old woman with a £100,000 pension fund, earning £40,000 with a 2.5% wage growth and investment growth of 5%, until State Pension age of 67.
Working full time could result in a potential pension fund of £355,510. However, reducing working hours by 50% from age 50 would result in a pension fund of £292,356. Stopping work altogether at age 50 would leave the woman with a fund worth £229,202, a difference of £126,308 between working full time and stopping work.
Moffat added: “Unfortunately, dealing with menopause symptoms can come at a time when many women may be thinking about adding to their pension savings. Quite apart from the loss of income, women leaving their job because of menopause symptoms miss out on important pension savings at a key stage in their life, potentially resulting in them being up to £126,000 worse off in retirement.
“Encouragingly, from our research around menopause in work, 82% of women going through menopause said they would be more likely to stay with their current employer if they were better supported. For that to happen, business leaders need to better understand menopause and how they can support employees. This includes creating a supportive workplace environment and signposting effective menopause support to help employees and ensure the economy benefits too.”
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