‘Serious disparity’ around retirement savings of people identifying as LGBTQ+

One in four (25%) people who identify as LGBTQ+ are not saving for their retirement, a survey has found.

The research was released by Scottish Widows to coincide with Pride Month in June.

It also found that just under a fifth (18%) of people who do not identify as LGBTQ+ report they are saving nothing towards their retirement.

People who are LGBTQ+ were also less likely in the survey to say that they have taken financial advice.

One in nine (11%) people surveyed who identify as LGBTQ+ said they have taken financial advice, compared with one in six (15%) of those who do not identify as LGBTQ+.

A YouGov survey was carried out among more than 5,000 people across the UK and the full findings will be published by Scottish Widows later this summer.

The research echoes similar findings made by last year’s Scottish Widows report, which also indicated that people who identify as LGBTQ+ were less likely to say they are in a pension scheme than the wider population.

A report from charity Shelter in 2021 indicated that gay and bisexual people were more likely to have been affected by the “housing emergency” than heterosexual people.

People were defined as being affected if they agreed with various statements, including not having enough bedrooms, or that they have had to cut spending to afford housing costs, for example.

Emma Watkins, retirement director, Scottish Widows, said: “We recognise that the LGBTQIA+ community is large and diverse, with each individual facing their own circumstances, but the data across this community shows that, although the gap has been closing over the years, there’s still a serious disparity that needs to be addressed.

“It’s crucial that we as an industry encourage people to engage with their pension as part of their everyday finances, so that they can build a better financial future, even when they may not feel like they know where to start.

“There are lots of simple tools online to help figure out what you have, what you might need and what to do next.

“It’s important to find out more and take that next step as a pound saved now can have much more buying power by the time you retire.”

In general, people can engage with their pension savings by taking steps such as making sure they are in a workplace pension scheme, downloading their pension provider’s app, tracking down “lost” pensions using the Pension Tracing Service, and checking their state pension forecast.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) also sets “retirement living standards”, to help give people a general idea of the kind of lifestyle they might be on track for in retirement.