A paper said that although there were marked differences between elderly men and elderly women in their lifetime employment histories, these differences accounted for only a small fraction of the overall private pension income gap between the sexes. The overall gender gap arose mainly because women s characteristics were less well rewarded than men s, rather than because women had less advantageous personal characteristics than men.
Source: Elena Bardasi and Stephen Jenkins, The Gender Gap in Private Pensions, Working Paper 2004-29, Institute for Social and Economic Research/University of Essex (01206 873087)
Links: Working paper (pdf)
Date: 2004-Dec
A trade union report on the retirement crisis said that young women starting work in 2004 were as likely to be as poor in old age as their great-grandmothers were. The time young women took off to care for children, combined with wages still nearly 20 per cent lower than those of men, meant they were less likely than men to be able to save for old age.
Source: Time for Action: Women and pensions, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report (pdf) | TUC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Dec
Researchers found that only 59 per cent of working-age respondents said they were aware of the future increase in the state pension age for women. Only 43 per cent of women who would be affected by the increase knew their own state pension age - of these, knowledge was lowest among women more likely to have to rely on the state pension in retirement.
Source: Claire Murphy, Public Awareness of State Pension Age Equalisation, Research Report 221, Department for Work and Pensions (0113 399 4040)
Links: Report (pdf links) | Summary (pdf) | DWP press release
Date: 2004-Nov
A report explored the characteristics of all couples and of all workless couples; the characteristics of benefit recipients and their partners; and the attitudes and barriers to work of non-working, non-claiming partners of benefit recipients. It was found that there were a number of different ways to define partners, and the characteristics of these different groups could vary significantly.
Source: Jessica Arrowsmith, A Review of What we Know about Partners of Benefit Recipients, W200, Department for Work and Pensions (0114 209 8274)
Links: Report (pdf)
Date: 2004-Sep
A report by a committee of peers examined the proposal by the European Commission to extend sex discrimination legislation to cover the supply of, and access to, goods and services (essentially limited to commercial transactions); and in particular the proposed ban on the use of gender as a factor in calculating insurance and related premiums and benefits.
Source: Sexual Equality in Access to Goods and Services, Twenty-Seventh Report (Session 2003-04), HL 165, House of Lords European Union Select Committee, TSO (0870 600 5522)
Links: Report | ABI press release | Consumers' Association press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
A report said that women were not saving adequate amounts towards providing an income in retirement and, largely as a result of this, women were at greater risk of poverty in retirement. It made proposals targeted at smaller employers, who were traditionally least likely to run or contribute to a pension scheme which would be of particular benefit to women.
Source: The Gender Pensions Gap: Encouraging women to save for retirement, Association of British Insurers (020 7600 3333)
Links: Report (pdf) | ABI press release | Guardian report
Date: 2004-Sep
Researchers assessed how the introduction of unisex rates would affect the annuities market. They concluded that the introduction of unisex annuities was unlikely to be of widespread and significant benefit. The Equal Opportunities Commission said that sex discrimination laws should be tightened up, so that insurers could only offer women and men different rates if they had relevant and up-to-date data to justify the difference.
Source: Chris Curry and Alison O'Connell, An Analysis of Unisex Annuity Rates, Equal Opportunities Commission (0161 833 9244) | Press release 30 June 2004, Equal Opportunities Commission
Links: Report (pdf) | Summary (pdf) | EOC press release
Date: 2004-Jun
The Trades Union Congress called on the government to abolish the '25 per cent' rule that stopped people with fewer than 10 years contributions getting any state pension. There were around 100,000 people, 88 per cent of whom were women, who although they had paid contributions, never got anything in return because of the rule.
Source: Women and Pensions, Trades Union Congress (020 7467 1294)
Links: Report | TUC press release
Date: 2004-Mar
A private member's Bill was introduced making provision for the prevention of sex discrimination in relation to membership of, or the benefits, facilities and services afforded by, clubs and other private associations.
Source: Sex Discrimination (Clubs and Other Private Associations) Bill, David Wright MP, TSO (0870 600 5522) | House of Commons Hansard, Debate 9 March 2004, columns 1397-1398, TSO
Links: Text of Bill | Hansard
Date: 2004-Mar
A report called for an end to the 'scandal' of pensioner poverty among women. It called for a reduction in the lower earnings limit to bring more low-paid workers into the national insurance system; a fairer, more accessible system of credits for carers; a pension for everyone paying into the national insurance system; and reforms to the state second pension.
Source: Susanna Mordaunt, Katherine Rake, Helen Wanless, and Ray Mitchell, One in Four, Age Concern England (020 8765 7200) and Fawcett Society
Links: Report (pdf) | Fawcett Society press release (pdf)
Date: 2004-Jan