How menopause can affect your finances and what you can do about it

From time off work to smaller pensions, menopause can seriously impact your finances. Yet, we rarely talk about it.

That needs to change.

October is Menopause Awareness Month and, to mark it, we spoke to Diane Danzebrink, menopause campaigner and founder of Menopause Support, about how menopause is affecting women’s financial wellbeing.

Diane explained how Menopause Support was born out of her own difficult experience.

In 2012, she went into surgical menopause after having both ovaries removed. She was given no support or information and the impact was devastating.

“I experienced high anxiety, low mood, panic attacks and confusion,” she shared. “I didn’t understand what was happening to me.”

In one moment of frustration, she turned to her husband and said:

“How the hell can this be right? We're half of the population and there is so much needless suffering going on.

“If I ever feel like me again, I'm going to make damn sure I do something about it.”

And she did. In 2016, Diane founded Menopause Support to provide education, training and advocacy for women, healthcare professionals and workplaces across the UK.

Menopause and work

Menopause symptoms, especially the mental and emotional ones like fatigue and anxiety, can have a huge impact on your working life.

“Three out of four do experience symptoms and one out of four say that those symptoms are debilitating, having a significant effect on their quality of life,” Diane said.

This can result in women:

• cutting back hours
• stepping out of leadership roles
• quitting work altogether

“What that often means is that talent is lost from the workplace. And of course, that's a loss not only for the employer, but a loss financially and emotionally for the individual.”

A recent survey of 1,527 women by Menopause Support shows:

• 306 women reduced their hours
• 256 left their jobs
• 142 said they’d leave if they could afford to
• 61 had given up work permanently

• 56 were considering leaving work

• 44 cut back self-employed hours
• 5 closed their businesses

It’s clear the menopause isn’t just a health issue, it’s a major economic one too.

Cost of care

Then there’s the cost of care to consider.

The NHS does offer menopause support, but Diane warns that it can be a postcode lottery, as many GPs still don’t fully understand it. So, some women opt for private support.

“It’s not unusual for the cost of a private menopause doctor to be around £300. And that’s just for an initial appointment,” she explained.

So if you can’t pay for private help, you might be left suffering and struggling to stay in work.

“It doesn’t just affect day-to-day finances, it affects financial security in later life.”

What’s changing at work?

Progress is being made in the workplace. From April 2026, the government’s Employment Rights Bill will ask employers to create menopause action plans. These will become mandatory for large employers by 2027.

But as Diane points out, support is still uneven:

“If you work for a smaller organisation with fewer resources that can sometimes be a barrier to getting the right support in the workplace.”

If you’re self-employed, it’s even harder

Many self-employed women have zero support during menopause. No HR. No sick pay. No workplace adjustments.

“Women who work for themselves often fall through the cracks,” Diane said. “And yet, self-employment is common, so this is a gap we urgently need to address.”

Struggling with the benefits system?

If you’re dealing with menopause symptoms and money worries, navigating the benefits system can feel incredibly overwhelming.

“They have no idea where to begin,” Diane explained. “If you've never had to engage with those services before... that's an additional level of stress.”

But you don’t have to figure it out alone.

There’s help available and finding out what you’re entitled to could make a real difference to your finances and your peace of mind.

If you’re unsure what benefits or financial support you could claim, use our benefits calculator. It’s free and quick, and can give you a clearer idea of what you might be eligible for.

Don’t suffer in silence

If you’re struggling, you don’t have to go through it alone.

“Getting the right help and support for menopause can help you feel empowered to take back more control over the other aspects of your life,” Diane said.

Even if you’ve never asked for help before, it’s okay to start now.

“It can be really difficult, particularly if you're somebody who's never found yourself in that position in your life before. But the thing that I always say to people is: do ask for support, because actually reaching out and asking for help is the strongest thing you can do.”