Sponsored content by David Porter, Chartered Financial Planning Consultant at Armstrong Watson

WOMEN are saving less than men for their retirement, with only 15 per cent saving for the future compared to 20 per cent of men.

The previously unpublished figures show that women are worried they will not have enough in their pension pot in time for their retirement, with 25 per cent saying this is because they didn’t start saving for their retirement early enough.

When it comes to how much they think they will hold when they reach retirement age, women anticipate they will have £168,006. This is almost £100,000 less than men who think they will have £255,328.

In addition, only 22 per cent of women believe they are saving enough to ensure a comfortable standard of living for the future, compared to 33 per cent of men.

Data shows that women are saving less of their net income each month than men, with women putting aside 9.4 per cent of their net income compared to the 11.4 per cent saved by men.

The findings reveal that more men have plans for their retirement pot than women, with 38% of women claiming that they don’t know what to do with their pension when they retire compared to 32 per cent of men.

While 21 per cent of men said they planned to withdraw it as a lump sum, only 13 per cent of women said they planned to do the same.

Furthermore, 21 per cent of females said they would be relying on a State Pension in their retirement compared to just 13 per cent of men.

The latest figures from HM Revenue and Customs show that while the gender split of numbers of Individual Savings Account (ISA) subscribers is broadly equal, males accounted for a marginally higher proportion of the higher value ISA holders.

Males accounted for 52 per cent of ISA holdings worth £50,000 or more, while 52 per cent of females’ own holdings are worth up to £2,499.

Your financial plan should be a true picture of your current financial health and a realistic view of your goals.

To be useful, it should be updated annually, or when your needs and life situation changes.

For any information you require on making sure you’re on track financially, please get in touch, email david.porter@armstrongwatson.co.uk or call 01756 620000