“Serious disparity” in retirement savings for people who identify as LGBTQ+

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

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

The study also found that just under a fifth (18%) of people who do not identify as LGBTQ+ say they have nothing saved for retirement.

LGBTQ+ people were also less likely in the survey to report having taken financial advice.

One in nine (11%) respondents who identify as LGBTQ+ said they have sought financial advice, compared to 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 results will be published by Scottish Widows later this summer.

The research echoes similar findings from last year's Scottish Widows report, which also found that people identifying as LGBTQ+ were less likely to say they had a pension plan than the general population .

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

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

Emma Watkins, director of pensions at Scottish Widows, said: “We recognize that the LGBTQIA+ community is large and diverse, with each individual facing their own unique circumstances, but data from this community shows that although the gap is widening, has been reduced over the years, there is still a serious disparity that needs to be addressed.

“It’s crucial that we, as an industry, encourage people to integrate their pension into their everyday finances, so they can build a better financial future, even if they don’t feel like they know where to start.

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

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“It’s important to learn more and take the next step, because a pound saved now can have much greater purchasing power by the time you retire.”

Generally, people can use their pension savings by taking steps such as making sure they are part of a workplace pension scheme, downloading their pension provider's app, checking for 'lost' pensions using the Pension Lookup Service and checking their state pension forecasts.

The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) also sets the 'retirement living standards', to help give people a general idea of ​​the type of lifestyle they could adopt in retirement .