Maltese women tend to live on average four years longer than men, according to Eurostat. This means that they need to think about their retirement even more than men, seeing as they are likely to have a longer retirement period.

This issue is even more crucial, considering Maltese women tend to have interruptions during the course of their careers, which means they might have gaps in their national insurance contributions. This may mean that some women, especially those who cannot depend on their partner’s pension, might need to work beyond retirement age to ensure that they have an adequate income to face old age. In this article, I will explore why Maltese women have to get smart long before they retire.

In the UK, reports by Scottish Widows (2013) reveal that six out of 10 women expect that they will have to work beyond retirement age. These women cannot afford to contribute towards a private pension, meaning one fifth of female respondents might have to sell their home to fund their retirement. There might be a similar scenario in Malta if things do not start changing.

For people who, like myself, are approaching their 50s, the viability of retiring at State retirement age becomes an issue of concern. A good number of Maltese women and men have postponed marriage or having children because of their career or because they preferred to wait until they were able to buy an appropriate residence before starting a family. They are now facing the possibility of not being able to retire if their children are still financially dependent on them.

Media campaigns have been going on about the importance of preparing for old age by saving early. Unfortunately, not everybody is in a position to save, like those on a minimum wage, those with young children or disabled family members or those who cannot work because of their caring responsibilities.

Those who face in-work poverty, namely the unskilled and migrant labourers, might barely be making enough to make ends meet. Their predicament would be even worse when they retire if they do not have the opportunity to save for it while they are working.

It is for this reason that it is important to encourage these women to get advice on what would pay them by retirement age if they had to put aside even the smallest amount in a savings scheme. This applies particularly to those women who may not even qualify for a state pension.

UK statistics show women are less likely than men to think about long-term savings. When women save, they tend to do so short term. They use their savings to pay for their children’s education, home loans or unexpected crises, whereas men are more likely to set money aside for long-term retirement plans, even when money is somewhat tight.

Women tend to put their family first even when they are likely to earn less than men. According to the NSO Labour Force Survey, 2/2014, the average highest salary in 2014 for women was €18,740, while that for men came up to around €26,855.

This gender pay gap was also noted among the average lowest salaries in 2014, with men earning around €4,714 on average more than women. Eurostat figures also show that in 2013, 22.4 per cent of Maltese women were low-wage earners when compared to 15.6 per cent of men.

Maltese women in legally acknowledged relationships are still taking career breaks, assuming that in the future they would be able to rely on joint savings and the pension accrued by their partner. But one cannot always expect such support, especially in the case of separation or divorce. At the moment, we are seeing that Maltese couples who split up are trading the pension acquired by the breadwinner for other assets owned by the couple, meaning that the spouse may be left with little or no provisions for retirement.

We still need to see policy changes which ensure that women who withdraw from the labour market to take care of family members are not put at a disadvantage when a relationship ends.

Women need to start putting themselves first when preparing for retirement to make sure they do not become financially dependent on their children in old age.

It might be time for the local market to open its doors to gender-specific saving schemes that might persuade more women to save for their futures. Reports show that women prefer financial arrangements that help them save when they are able to and which give them access to funds when needed.

Provisions can consist of long-term savings and private retirement schemes. Whatever the type of product used, it is very clear that women need to start taking an active role in making provisions for their retirement by saving something earlier on so their future and that of their loved ones is likely to look brighter.

MSV Life has launched an online retirement planning tool. It has also launched A Simple Guide to Pensions. For a copy call Freephone 8007 2220 or e-mail retirement@msvlife.com.

Dr Cutajar is senior lecturer at the Faculty of Social Wellbeing and director of the University of Malta Cottonera Resource Centre.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.