Experts say a more nuanced approach to pensions comms is needed, as a new report has identified a desire for clear and trusted communications, ideally from within their community, among women from ethnic minority backgrounds.
 
The report, ‘A glimmer of light on the horizon: what women from Britain’s ethnic minority communities have to say about retirement finances’ was carried out by Opinium for Independent Governance Group, LCP and Smart Pension. Based on interviews with 50 women, it offers anecdotal evidence of where this group are on pensions and finance more broadly, and features video clips and quotes.

The study comes as previous industry research has found lower pension wealth among ethnic minority groups than white British people. At the same time, women aged 55-59 had about half the pension wealth of men in 2020 to 2022, government figures show.

However, the new report suggests a trend towards financial independence through greater participation in the labour force, which means women from diverse ethnic backgrounds are eager to have accessible information about pensions. Respondents cite changing norms, from a historic expectation to be supported by your children in old age, to giving ongoing support to children, and from providing for the future through property or business ownership to greater reliance on savings.

“While we may have reached a potential turning point for one key facet of the gender pensions gap, there is still a significant challenge ahead. Despite a clear eagerness among women from ethnic minority backgrounds to learn, gaps in knowledge remain,” said Priti Ruparelia, head of DC at IGG.

“It’s clear that our industry needs a more nuanced approach that takes account of cultural and social differences, so we can cut through, build trust and support behavioural change. There is a strong desire for accessible information, and we must capitalise on this by developing new, innovative and thoughtful ways of reaching these communities - a need underscored by this research, which shows a real shift as more women take ownership of their own retirement outlook,” she added.

Bahea Izmeqna, chief product officer at Smart Pension, said: “Black and Asian women are making up a bigger proportion of the UK economy than ever before, and that trend is only set to continue. There is a growing need to engage these communities even more closely to ensure their incredibly valuable contribution is properly rewarded in their participation in workplace pension schemes.”

LCP partner and former pensions minister, Sir Steve Webb said the research offers some hope that things could be changing for the better.

“We found growing levels of employment, qualifications and aspirations for financial independence amongst younger Black and Asian women which are likely to lead to improved pension outcomes. But these women also said that they wanted clearer pensions communication, from trusted sources in plain English and in a place that is easy to find. All of us in the pensions industry need to rise to this challenge,” he said.

The research does not appear to segment participants by whether they have children, despite childcare duties being seen by most experts as a key determinant of women’s pension outcomes.