- Conference
- 2011 National Women's Conference
- Date
- 22 September 2010
- Decision
- Carried
A larger proportion of women than men have no pension provision for the future although the Government proposes to introduce the National Employment Savings Trust (NEST) for those whose employers do not have pension plans. A compulsory system that only the lowest paid will be able to contract out of this will still be unsuitable for many women. Those contracted out are more likely to be women as they tend to be the lowest paid.
In the future only the minority of women may have long term employment. Many may be out of work for extended periods meaning they are unable to build up a worthwhile pension pot.
In the UK pension providers may charge 1.5 per cent per annum commission even if their investments have lost money. Therefore there is no way of knowing until retirement how much pension has been accumulated. In contrast, European pension providers take a much smaller slice of the cake; on average 0.04 per cent per annum helping funds build up. There are no selling charges as European pensions are bought by the individual as opposed to being sold by a financial advisor. This makes them more affordable.
This Conference instructs the National Women’s Committee to:
1)Work with the National Executive Council and other relevant bodies to campaign for a change in legislation to deliver the best possible pension provision for all women.
2)Investigate and report back on a way forward for women’s pension provision.