Women are falling further behind as pension gap widens

Women are saving roughly half the amount men are putting aside for their retirement, with the pensions gender gap widening over the last five years.

- Catherine Neilan, Whitehall Editor

Women's private pension pots reach £81,000 on average in their late 50s, while men of the same age hold around £156,000 - representing a gender gap of 48% — according to new research by the Department for Work and Pensions. That figure is the highest since collection of data began in 2006, having reached a record low of 35% in 2020.

Women have long lagged behind men when it comes to saving for retirement, partly as a reflection of the higher rates of part-time or casual work among women. But the gap had been narrowing before the pandemic.

The data also reveals that just one in four people of working age from Pakistani or Bangladeshi ethnic groups are saving into a pension, compared with more than one in two white workers.