What's fuelling the pensions gender gap?

Its research found that more than double the number of women (34%) compared to men (16%) don’t know how much they have saved in pensions and women are more likely than men (40% vs 32%) have never estimated their income needs for retirement.

In addition to this, the number of women without any pension arrangements has nearly doubled from 7% in 2017 to 13% and remains higher than the proportion of men without pension arrangements.

Kate Smith, head of pensions at Aegon, commented: “It’s hugely disappointing to see that despite the attention being given to addressing the gender pay gap, this increased awareness does not seem to have inspired women to show more interest in their pensions.

“Knowledge is key to helping solve the gender pension gap so it’s really worrying to see that more than a third of women remain in the dark about what they have saved for retirement – if anything at all.

“We already know that women are at a disadvantage in terms of pay, childcare responsibilities and costs and reduced working hours but by not having a complete picture of their financial situation, they are putting themselves at a further disadvantage.

“This lack of interest in pension savings is exacerbated by the fact that women are also being let down by the current auto-enrolment criteria.

“Women who are more likely to be lower earners and work part time, are missing out on the benefits of retirement saving as they are less likely to meet the eligibility criteria for auto-enrolment. And those who are self-employed, risk being in a similar position without access to auto-enrolment.

“Auto-enrolment needs to be more inclusive to include lower earners, who are disproportionately female. A solution needs to be found for individuals with multiple jobs, each below £10,000 allowing them to benefit automatically from an employer contribution. This will help to close the gender pension gap.”