“33% OFF” labels put the pension gap on women in Pregnant Then Screwed’s campaign

A discount label carries a different meaning when it is attached to a woman. Pregnant Then Screwed’s “Thanks for your service*” campaign uses giant neon “33% OFF” starbursts to make the UK gender pension gap visible in public.

Launched in October 2026, the campaign takes the language of a sale and applies it to the financial consequences women face after years of working and caring. The charity’s message centres on women having pension pots that average 33% less than men’s.

The number represents a gap in retirement savings. Placing it on women gives that distant financial outcome an immediate human subject.

A sale sign becomes a statement about value

The starburst is familiar from shop windows and promotional leaflets. Its large percentage announces a reduction in value before a viewer reads any smaller explanation.

Here, that reduction is placed directly on the people affected. The campaign connects a financial statistic to the way women’s work and caring responsibilities are valued.

Its title adds another layer. “Thanks for your service*” sounds like an acknowledgement of contribution. The asterisk asks readers to look at what follows that service, including the financial penalty that can remain at retirement.

Pregnant Then Screwed campaigns against the motherhood penalty. This work extends that subject across a woman’s lifetime, linking decisions and pressures during working years to the savings available later.

Receipts add up the cost of motherhood

Alongside the portraits and street images, receipt-style executions list the events and expenses that can shape a woman’s working life.

Pregnancy, nursery fees, a return to work and redundancy appear as entries in an itemised account. A “Motherhood Tax” deduction and a pension total of “-33%” bring the story back to the campaign’s central figure.

The receipt format gives the message a sequence. Each line records something that happened along the way, showing how the eventual shortfall can build through years of employment and care.

Career breaks and reduced working hours can affect pension contributions. Childcare costs can also limit what families can put aside. The campaign draws attention to those connected pressures, presenting retirement inequality as an issue that begins well before retirement itself.

The message reaches seven UK cities

The outdoor campaign runs across London, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Dundee, Manchester, Birmingham and Southampton. Print, social media and street activity carry the same message further.

Supporters include Anna Whitehouse, Ashley James, Caroline Hirons, Cat Simms, Agnes Agyepong and Victoria Emes.

Across these placements, the “33% OFF” label keeps the statistic prominent. The receipt designs then give readers a way to trace the costs behind it. Together, the executions connect the pension gap to the working and caring lives that precede it.

Credits

Thanks for your service (2026).* Organisation Pregnant Then Screwed, UK. Creative direction Gemma Phillips. Photography Sane Seven. Design Rachel Many.