Labour stats shows gender pension challenge

The number of women working part-time compared to men risks making the pensions savings gap even worse, Aegon has warned.

According to the UK’s new labour market figures published today, 22 January, of the 8.4 million part-time employees, nearly 75 per cent are women, making it a strong “influencing factor in the pensions savings gap”.

Research by the provider found that by the time women reach age 50, they have on average only half the pension savings (£56,000) compared to their male counterparts, who will have saved on average £112,000.

Aegon pensions director, Steve Cameron, said: “Whilst it is good to see the proportion of women in employment is close to a record high at 71.2 per cent and closing the gap compared to men, today’s figures show there are still significant differences within the labour force.

“Of the 8.4 million part-time employees in the UK nearly three quarters of these are women and although there are a number of reasons for this, it’s an influencing factor in the pension savings gap that exists between genders.”

Cameron added that there may be a number of reasons for more women working part-time that men.

Furthermore, the market figures found that the number of self-employed people working rose by 1.67 per cent, highlighting the need for a solution to their pension savings problem.

“The self-employed are a growing part of the employment landscape but do not benefit from being automatically into workplace pension so risk lagging behind in their pension provision in retirement. It is crucial, therefore, that we find ways to make pensions more attractive to this large proportion of the workforce,” Cameron added.

    Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.


Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.