Implications of the research
When researching issues around women from ethnic minorities, it might have been expected that the conclusions would be largely negative. But the three partners who have funded this research have emerged, if anything, more optimistic about the prospects for tackling some of these pension gaps. This is for two main reasons:
- The younger generations of women in the different groups were generally more likely to be in paid work and more likely to have higher levels of formal education; both of these factors have the potential to improve pension outcomes compared with previous generations. While this may well be an improvement that we see for women irrespective of ethnicity, it is particularly significant for the women in the ethnic minority groups that we are considering, as cultural and traditional beliefs around the woman’s role as financially dependent appear to have persisted for longer, especially where new to the UK. This shift is therefore particularly significant in these groups.
- Although there is a widespread lack of knowledge and a certain lack of trust in pensions, there is also considerable hunger for information and explanation. Almost without exception, participants would have welcomed financial education whilst at school, but many also said that they would access information about pensions and personal finances, provided it was easy to find, presented in straightforward language, and by people they trusted and could identify with. Again, while these barriers are likely to impact women across all ethnicities, there are particular challenges around orchestrating the delivery of the messages to women of ethnic minorities by people they can easily identify with. There will also be a greater concentration in this group of women for whom English is not their first language, and where simplicity of language is not merely desirable, but crucial.
In surveying women from ethnic minority groups we found certain common themes, but we also found themes that were especially pertinent to particular groups. For example, it was the women in the Asian groups who were most concerned about whether investing was consistent with their religious beliefs, and also this group, amongst whose families being a landlord seemed especially common. Women of Caribbean heritage were more familiar with community-based ‘pardner’ saving schemes and reported some challenges accessing traditional financial services, particularly in years gone by. These findings, and others, are a reminder to financial services providers and the pensions industry of the importance of understanding the diversity of their membership and tailoring their approach accordingly.
But it is clear that the pensions industry has a considerable opportunity to support these women in achieving better pension outcomes than in the past, and thereby to help reduce both the ‘gender’ pension gap and the ‘ethnicity’ pension gap which have been such persistent features of the pensions landscape.