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Saving for Retirement: A Review of Ethnic Minorities in the UK

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 October 2012

Orla Gough  and
Roberta Adami
Orla Gough
Affiliation:
Department of Finance and Business Law, University of Westminster E-mail: [email protected]
Roberta Adami
Affiliation:
Department of Finance and Business Law, University of Westminster E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

This article examines the saving behaviour of ethnic minorities in the UK. Within the context of pension planning, we investigate saving for retirement patterns in relation to ethnicity, gender and age. We use data from the Family Resources Survey (FRS) to analyse employment status, income, saving types and levels. Although we find profound heterogeneity, ethnic minorities show higher levels of unemployment, lower income and consistently lower levels of saving for retirement compared to our white control group. Disadvantages of ethnic minorities during their working life persist, especially for women, although to a lesser extent than in the past, and continue to affect private savings and prospective retirement income. Indian and Chinese men have experienced the greatest improvements in terms of employment status and income and this is reflected in higher levels of saving for retirement since the mid 1990s.

Keywords

Saving behaviourethnic minoritiesretirement
Type
Themed Section on Rethinking Retirement Incomes: Inequality and Policy Change in the UK and Anglo Saxon Countries
Information
Social Policy and Society , Volume 12 , Issue 1 , January 2013 , pp. 147 - 161
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2012

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