Understanding millennial women's attitudes towards the state pension in the United Kingdom

Abstract

Abstract Many international pension systems have undergone extensive changes over recent decades, associated with a dominant narrative of the need to respond to the pressures of population ageing. This has resulted in an increasing emphasis on curtailing the role of the state and promoting individual responsibility for pension saving. However, there is currently limited research which considers attitudes and expectations surrounding pension developments and, in particular, the role of state pensions. This is despite these factors influencing pension savings behaviour. Existing research suggests that under-saving is most common amongst women (linked to their more fragmented employment histories throughout the lifecourse) and millennials (born in the early 1980s up to the mid- to late 1990s), indicating the importance of better understanding their attitudes and expectations regarding pensions. This article aims to address this knowledge gap by exploring, in the United Kingdom, millennial women's knowledge, attitudes and expectations regarding state pensions, using 45 qualitative interviews and a focus group. The findings demonstrate that millennial women's situation regarding state pensions is characterised by a lack of knowledge, awareness and certainty, which influences their pensions behaviour. It identifies that, in general, pensions were not perceived as a current financial priority, with more immediate priorities taking precedence. Active engagement with pensions and uncertainties throughout the lifecourse, many of which people cannot control, presented a challenge to pension saving. Retirement was often seen as a distinct stage, with participants struggling to visualise their long-term future. The research contributes to the limited international understanding of attitudes towards pension knowledge and expectations, and their links to pension behaviour. It highlights the need for measures to encourage a greater focus on longer-term saving habits, accompanied by a context of collective policy solutions to pension challenges, as opposed to framing pensions in a purely individualised neo-liberal policy framework which adversely impacts on women's pension prospects.