Closing the gap: top tips for supporting women's financial wellbeing

Offering salary sacrifice means your employees’ pension contributions are as tax efficient as possible. They’ll automatically save both the income tax and NI, as well as receive the employer provided contribution.

When employees are on a lower salary, this makes their money go that much further. For a basic rate taxpayer £100 into their pension costs them just £68.

Tax rules change and benefits depend on individual circumstances.

Many women will reduce their contributions or switch out of the salary sacrifice scheme to maximise maternity pay. But if their contributions are deducted under a salary sacrifice arrangement, they’re treated as employer contributions and employers should continue to pay the entire contribution.

Consistent, long-term contributions can be key in building a good pension. So let your employees know their entitlements when it comes to pension contributions during maternity leave.

Other things to consider:

Women form part of the under-pensioned group due to their working patterns. A higher tendency to work part time, and juggle multiple jobs, means they can often fall short of meeting the automatic enrolment earnings trigger of £10,000 through one employer.

Research shows that 17% of employed women don’t meet the qualifying criteria for auto enrolment – compared to 8% for employed men.

As an employer, actively engage with ‘non-eligible jobholders’ and encourage them to opt in and meet the employer contribution.

Use gender pay reporting to identify the gaps and the job roles that are affected. Ensure your organisation pays women a fair wage and is committed to greater diversity across leadership roles to boost career prospects.

Provide equal opportunities for training and development and ensure that recruitment and promotion processes are fair and unbiased.

The HL Savings and Resilience Barometer reveals that having a higher income typically means higher financial resilience. Unsurprisingly, being on a lower wage means that women are less able to pay for unexpected emergencies and could have higher levels of debt, both of which will have a negative impact on their financial resilience and general wellbeing.

Employers are perfectly positioned to help provide financial knowledge and information.

Research shows that 68% of employees trust their employer and 23% consider their employer a great source of guidance for their pension. And providing financial education in the workplace makes it easier for those who are time poor to engage with their finances.

You could also provide employees with resources including webinars, phone assistance, training and the opportunity to speak to an expert 1-2-1.

More on our financial wellbeing programme