A UK investment service is calling on BAME communities to take part in their ‘Great British Retirement Survey’ “to help make it the most inclusive survey on expectations and realities in later life.”
This follows Interactive Investor’s survey from last year that only had 12,000 respondents, which wasn’t a big enough data sample “to draw many meaningful conclusions,” according to a recent company statement.
Ethnicity pensions gap – the reasons
The announcement of this year’s survey follows figures from the ONS gathered between April 2016 and March 2018 that found that “almost across the board” people of colour had lower household wealth than white people.
However, the figures reveal an ethnicity pensions pay gap too, where the “median private pension value was £80,000 for White British groups but less than £5,000 for Bangladeshi, Black African, Chinese and any other ethnic groups.” The ONS credited these figures to lower earnings and employment rates among BAME groups and also due to a “knowledge gap” pertaining to pension schemes among some minority groups.
Myron Jobson, Personal Finance Campaigner, interactive investor, said: “The latest ONS on household wealth revealed an ethnic wealth chasm – not gap – that needs to be addressed – akin to efforts rightly made to address gender inequalities.
“The first step is understanding the experiences and expectations that are unique to different communities. However, lack of research is an ongoing motif when it comes to exploring how attitudes and experiences among BAME communities might affect their access to and use of financial services.
“It is vital for us as ethnic minorities to get our voices heard to allow the financial services industry, which is still very much pale and male, to develop a greater understanding of the very real differences in economic outcomes for different groups in society.
“Cultural diversity is an intrinsic facet of the nation that puts the Great in Britain. It is made up of four nations England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland – all of which different countries with unique dialects, customs and traditions. As such, we, the financial industry, must also proactively endeavour to understand how the system plays a role in producing unequal economic outcomes, how it directly contributes to ethnic wealth inequality and establish what needs to be done for a more inclusive financial system – a key enabler in reducing poverty and boosting prosperity.”
He added: “Help us spread the word to make this year’s Great British Retirement Survey the most inclusive one yet.”
Click here to take part in the survey.
