Menopause is often discussed in terms of physical and emotional symptoms, but its financial impact can be just as significant.
In a recent episode of the Accelerating Your Wealth podcast, financial adviser and wealth coach Rebecca Robertson explored how menopause can affect women’s careers, earning potential, pensions, investments and long-term financial security.
For some women, symptoms can make working full-time increasingly difficult. Others may reduce their hours, turn down promotions, change careers or leave employment altogether.
For Robertson, understanding those potential financial consequences — and planning for them — is an important part of navigating the transition.
How Menopause Can Affect Women’s Careers and Income
Menopause can arrive at a stage of life when many women are managing several competing responsibilities.
Some may still have children at home, while also caring for ageing parents or supporting other family members. At the same time, symptoms such as brain fog, anxiety and fatigue can affect their ability to work in the way they previously did.
Robertson said she experienced this herself, describing a period when she had to reduce her capacity significantly.
She said that for a period she was unable to take on some of the opportunities she would normally have pursued, including running events, networking and developing her podcast.
The consequences can extend beyond the immediate loss of income.
Working fewer hours or stepping away from a career can also mean lower pension contributions, reduced investment opportunities and fewer chances to progress professionally.
The Financial Cost of Stepping Back From Work
Robertson highlighted figures suggesting that menopause is contributing to women leaving the workforce or reducing their working hours.
She cited research indicating that around one in 10 working women have left their jobs because of menopause symptoms, while others have reduced their hours or passed up promotions and training opportunities.
The financial effect can therefore continue long after symptoms have improved.
A woman who reduces her hours may earn less today, but she may also receive lower employer pension contributions and have less disposable income available to invest.
For someone considering a career change or a period away from work, Robertson argues that understanding those longer-term consequences is essential.
Menopause, Money and the Fear of Running Out
One of the tensions Robertson identified is the conflict between wanting greater freedom and worrying about financial security.
A woman experiencing menopause may decide she needs to work less, change career or take time away from employment. But if she has significant financial commitments, making that decision can feel impossible.
The answer, Robertson suggests, is to understand the numbers before making the change.
That means looking at household income, regular commitments, debt, mortgages, savings, pensions and investments.
Once those figures are clear, it becomes easier to determine what is realistically possible.
Talk Openly About Money With Your Partner
Financial pressure can also affect relationships.
Robertson recommends having open conversations with a partner about what is happening financially, particularly if one person is considering reducing their hours or changing career.
Couples may need to reconsider how household expenditure is divided.
One approach she suggests is for each partner to contribute towards household expenses in proportion to their income. If one person earns twice as much as the other, for example, they would contribute twice as much towards shared expenditure.
The important point is not necessarily how couples organise their finances, but that both people understand the arrangement and agree on what is fair.
Protecting Your Pension During a Career Break
A reduction in working hours can have a particularly significant effect on retirement planning.
Employer pension contributions may fall when earnings fall, while someone who leaves employment altogether may stop receiving employer contributions entirely.
Robertson stresses the importance of continuing to think about pensions even during periods when income is lower.
She highlighted the fact that someone with no earnings can still contribute up to £2,880 into a pension and receive tax relief, bringing the contribution to £3,600, subject to the applicable rules.
For women approaching or going through menopause, maintaining pension contributions where financially possible can help prevent one temporary change in working life from becoming a much larger retirement shortfall.
Build Financial Security Before Making a Change
If a woman is considering reducing her working hours, retraining or starting a new business, Robertson recommends establishing financial security first.
That could mean reviewing major commitments and identifying where savings could be made.
Questions to consider include:
- Is the current mortgage affordable if income falls?
- Could car finance or other debts be reduced?
- Are insurance policies providing adequate protection?
- Is there an emergency fund?
- Are pension contributions still affordable?
- What would happen if the career change took longer than expected?
Having answers to these questions can create more room to make decisions without immediately putting household finances under pressure.
Planning for the Next Six or 12 Months
Rather than simply thinking about getting through menopause, Robertson encourages women to think about what they want their financial and professional life to look like afterwards.
For someone reducing their hours temporarily, that might mean setting a specific timeframe.
Perhaps the plan is to work fewer hours for two years while retraining. Or it could involve using the period to develop a new business before eventually increasing working hours again.
Having an end goal makes it easier to build the financial consequences into a wider plan.
Workplace Support Could Help Women Stay in Their Careers
Employers also have a role to play.
Robertson said businesses that understand menopause and provide appropriate support may be better positioned to retain experienced female employees.
For women struggling at work, speaking to an employer about what adjustments or support could help may be worthwhile.
That could involve changes to workload, working patterns or other practical arrangements that allow someone to remain economically active without pushing themselves beyond what they can manage.
Managing Capacity During Menopause
Robertson was candid about having to change the way she worked during her own experience.
She described reducing her workload and becoming more realistic about what she could achieve in a week.
One technique she used was identifying what absolutely had to be completed each day.
Rather than creating an enormous to-do list, she asked herself what would need to be done if something unexpected happened and she could not return to work that day.
That allowed her to prioritise the genuinely urgent tasks while leaving enough flexibility to rest or move appointments if necessary.
Her wider message was that women should not expect themselves to operate at maximum capacity throughout menopause.
Menopause Can Also Change Financial Behaviour
Robertson also discussed the psychological side of money during menopause.
She described becoming more reluctant to take risks and more conscious of how other people might perceive failure.
At the same time, emotional spending can become an issue.
Spending money on things that provide an immediate boost may feel worthwhile in the moment, but regular discretionary spending can become significant when income is already under pressure.
The solution is not necessarily to remove every enjoyable expense. Instead, women need to recognise when spending is helping them enjoy life and when it is simply masking a deeper financial or emotional problem.
The Importance of Financial Independence
Menopause can be a significant transition, but it does not have to permanently derail a woman’s finances.
The key is understanding what is happening and making deliberate decisions rather than allowing circumstances to dictate the outcome.
That means knowing where the money is going, maintaining financial protection, reviewing pensions and investments, and discussing changes openly with a partner.
It can also mean accepting that priorities may need to change temporarily.
For Robertson, reducing her workload did not mean abandoning her financial goals. She adapted her working life so she could continue paying the bills and contributing to her pension while giving herself the space she needed.
The Financial Lessons Women Can Take From Menopause
The menopause can affect far more than a woman’s physical health.
It can influence her career, earnings, pension, investments, spending habits and financial confidence at a crucial point in her working life.
But recognising those risks creates an opportunity to plan for them.
Building an emergency fund, reviewing household finances, protecting pension contributions, checking insurance cover and having honest conversations with a partner can all provide greater financial flexibility.
The central lesson from Robertson’s discussion is simple: women do not need to have everything figured out at once.
Small, deliberate financial decisions can create the security needed to navigate a major life transition while keeping longer-term financial independence firmly in sight.
Rebecca Robertson in the Accelerating Your Wealth podcast.
