Tips for women on pension planning

WOMEN worried about making the right pension choices will find useful advice in a new free booklet from the Equal Opportunities Commission.

Your Pension Matters] should help to answer the growing number of questions about pensions.

The booklet is particularly aimed at younger women and urges them to start thinking about pensions. 'The sooner you begin, the better your chances of ending up with a decent pension,' it says.

It also offers guidelines to help women avoid poverty after retirement, often a result of the mistake that a partner's pension will be enough for two.

Only 15 per cent of women in the UK can claim the full state pension in their own right. Many have to rely on their husband's contributions, yet one in three marriages ends in divorce.

Retired married women get an average of just pounds 36 a week income compared with pounds 111 for a married man.

Copies are available free from the Communications Unit, EOC, Overseas House, Quay Street, Manchester M3 3HN.