Ah, Jackie Boylan at Fidelity International is at it again, wielding statistics like a blunt instrument to send women into a panic. Apparently, half of all UK women are unsure if they'll have enough for retirement. Not a smidge of surprise there, Jackie. But here's the kicker: investment firms love to use this kind of data to spook us into thinking that our only hope for a happy retirement is to shovel more money their way. And guess who’s waiting to “help” you fix the problem? Fidelity International, of course. Very convenient.
You see, in the world of investment firms, total wealth means financial capital. Human capital? Nope. Doesn’t exist. Never heard of it. The wealth found in your knowledge, skills, relationships, health, and energy? Well, according to their studies, it just vanishes into thin air when you retire. Apparently, the moment you clock out of the workforce, your brain, body, and talents all pack their bags and leave, and all that matters is what’s left in your pension pot.
But let’s get real for a moment, shall we?
Life expectancy in the UK is rising steadily. As of 2022, women are living to an average of 82.6 years, up from 78.6 for men. And when it comes to healthy life expectancy, the numbers aren’t too shabby either: 64.1 years for women and 63.4 years for men. So, women aren’t just living longer, they’re staying healthier for longer too. And what does that mean? It means they have more time and energy to leverage their human capital—yes, that intangible asset that Fidelity loves to ignore.
If you’ve got the health and the drive, your ability to generate income doesn’t just stop when you retire. We’re in the age of entrepreneurship and sustainable livelihoods, where people are making a living from their passions, skills, and expertise well into their 60s and 70s. But does Fidelity mention that in their report? Of course not.
Instead, they throw around big scary numbers like “£173 a month” to let you know just how much you’ll lose if you reduce your pension contributions. But let’s get some perspective. In an age of rampant inflation, the value of those numbers gets whittled away in real terms faster than you can say “cost of living crisis.” Meanwhile, the real crises—like your immediate health and well-being—take a back seat while investment firms urge you to keep throwing money into a future pot that might be worth less than they claim.
And here’s another little detail investment firms like Fidelity prefer to sweep under the rug: most women in the UK tend to marry men older than themselves (just over a two-year age gap on average). This means that matrimonial assets—yep, including those juicy pension pots—are usually inherited by the surviving spouse. So, why the alarm bells about women not having enough for retirement? Perhaps because it wouldn’t fit the investment narrative to remind women that there are other ways to balance the scales, like leveraging human capital or inheriting financial legacies.
But no, Fidelity’s solution to the “gender pension gap”—which is conveniently highlighted in their latest report—is for women to, you guessed it, contribute more. Want an extra £85,200? Just increase your contributions by 5 per cent, and voilà! Problem solved. But should you really prioritise topping up your pension pot over more pressing needs like, say, paying for today’s groceries, maintaining your mental health, or investing in your own entrepreneurial ventures? Probably not, but hey, that’s just common sense. Fidelity seems to think those things can wait.
Don’t get me wrong, saving for the future is important. But scaring people into thinking they’ll end up penniless unless they hand over even more of their hard-earned cash to investment firms? That’s a bit rich. Especially when the real wealth—your human capital—goes completely unacknowledged.
Instead of blindly feeding the investment machine, perhaps we should be focusing on ways to boost both financial and human capital—creating a sustainable, fulfilling life today while planning for tomorrow.
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