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Mar. 12--Penny Grossman shares the same anxiety of many women in her situation -- how to make ends meet in retirement.
The office manager, 50, has worked since she was 18, taking eight years off to care for her daughters, Lara, 24, and Eva, 22, when they were young.
Other than the little she expects to receive from the state, Penny has no pension provision or other savings -- and is pressing her daughters not to make the same mistake.
She says: "We need to educate young people to start pensions sooner. I have encouraged Lara to join her company scheme and Eva has also started saving.
"I spent all my income on the children, with schooling and university costs and recently Lara's wedding. I envisage working until I'm 80."
Penny's husband, Martin, 52, who works in the electronics industry, is part of a company scheme. But she says his pension will not be big enough to give them a comfortable retirement and fears they might have to move from their medium-sized family home in Pinner, Middlesex, to a flat.
A survey by pension provider Scottish Widows shows that half of women who give up work to raise children, stop contributing to pensions.
And research by the independent Pensions Advisory Service says only 16 per cent of women are entitled to the full basic state pension because of a poor National Insurance contributions record.
A-Day changes will give women more flexibility to save for retirement, so long as they can afford it.
From April, the age-related and annual savings limits will be swept away, replaced by a higher ceiling and limited to an individual's annual salary.
Younger women will be able to plan ahead for career breaks by topping up their pensions while working.
And women returning to work after a break, like Penny, will be able to make up lost ground on retirement funding.
Scottish Widows says that by saving 12 per cent of earnings between the ages of 30 and 65, a woman can build up a big enough pension to provide a decent standard of living in retirement.
Ian Naismith, head of pension market development at Scottish Widows, says women on career breaks should try to keep their pension saving on course.
He says: "Even without earnings, you can pay up to £234 a month into a personal pension, which increases to £300 after basic-rate tax relief."
Karen Ritchie of London-based adviser Financial Planning for Women says that those returning to a scheme should check its performance before making payments.
"Most providers have lowered charges in line with changes brought in with stakeholder plans, but some, such as Allied Dunbar, still have their old pricing structures," she says.
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