\u201cI am 35 and have essentially nothing saved for my future, which is a huge concern.\u201d Sarah* works in library services in Oxford \u2013 full-time at one library and part-time at another. She has saved \u00a35,000 into her pension.<\/p>\n
After finishing her PhD in 2020, she said she had \u201cgood intentions of contributing to pension schemes. But because I then had a succession of part-time jobs, I never started. I never thought, this is a job I\u2019ll be doing for long enough.\u201d<\/p>\n
Sarah is part of a growing cohort in Britain who are not saving enough for their retirement \u2013 15 million people, according to a report by the Pensions Commission. Its independent group of experts warned the figure could rise to 19 million<\/a> without urgent action.<\/p>\n The problem was particularly acute for women, the government-backed body said, with female savers approaching retirement having private pension pots on average half the size of those held by their male counterparts<\/a>. Women had a median pension wealth of \u00a381,000, versus \u00a3156,000 for men.<\/p>\n Despite now working more than full-time, Sarah has not opted in to her workplace pension scheme, with contributions of about \u00a3130 a month, owing to the cost of living. \u201cI live alone in a small flat where my rent and essential bills come to \u00a31,500 per month and my full-time salary is \u00a31,880,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n Her part-time job brings in an extra \u00a3500 a month. \u201cWith that, I\u2019m able to pay for necessities, but I haven\u2019t been on holiday in years. I don\u2019t have a car. I don\u2019t go out. So I\u2019m not choosing lifestyle over saving.\u201d<\/p>\n While Sarah is relatively young, she worries her savings won\u2019t catch up. \u201cMy peers who have been in full-time employment since they were 21 have got a lot more saved than I have. My financial situation is starting to feel worse as I\u2019m getting older. I\u2019m not going to get a high-powered, well-paid job any time soon.\u201d<\/p>\n She was one of many people who got in touch after the Guardian asked how much pension savers had managed to put aside and what this meant for their retirement plans.<\/p>\n \u2018I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever retire\u2019<\/p>\n Danny, a freelance graphic designer from London, has been unable to save into a pension and is yet to finish repaying the \u00a330,000 bounce-back loan<\/a> he took out during the Covid-19 pandemic.<\/p>\n \u201cEvery time I have saved, something falls over and the savings diminish,\u201d says the 54-year-old. \u201cIt\u2019s always been the mortgage deposit or pension savings that take a hit. First it was the financial crash, then Covid, now the wars.\u201d<\/p>\n Thinking about his financial situation in the future is \u201cfrankly terrifying\u201d as a single father with two children, he says. \u201cI don\u2019t know how I will survive on a state pension. Every time I start to stress about it, I find another 10 years have gone by and I\u2019m sitting in exactly the same position. I don\u2019t think I\u2019ll ever be in a place where I can retire.\u201d<\/p>\n Danny says he may consider retraining as an electrician. \u201cThe reality is that whilst I\u2019ve done this for 30 years, I\u2019m really beginning to think I need some kind of plan B, because I\u2019m not going to get any inheritance.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s doubly hard when you\u2019re saving on your own,\u201d he adds. \u201cI worry that my kids will need unexpected financial support in the future.\u201d<\/p>\n