It’s never a good sign when people refer to women as ‘females’. It says a lot about their attitude to the female sex.
JenniferEccles if you really think that everyone who hasn’t ‘made provision for themselves’ had the opportunity to do so, I suggest you leave your ivory tower and look around you.
I am semi- retired, and have an occupational pension, but I will have to wait another six years for my State Pension.
My last employer had a gender pay gap of 20%. When I started working (different occupation) the Equal Pay Act had just been passed, and my employer changed the job titles of the young men coming into the company, so they could pay them more (same entry qualifications and the job had previously had the same title). Not only that, but the men were sent on training courses etc, so they went on to be managers, while the women stayed in the office (so had less chance to pay into a pension).
I left, and changed my career path entirely, but that sort of thing was widespread, and coupled with childcare responsibilities etc, meant that many women were unable to pay enough into a pension to ‘provide for themselves’. Women (and men) working for minimum wage can’t do so either.
What does irritate me is that women who have worked, paid tax, NI, childcare costs etc have to wait years for their pensions, whilst those who could afford not to work had their NI paid by the state, often for decades.
It’s always benefit claimants who are blamed when this subject comes up, but middle class women who choose not to work get a good deal too.