Men accumulate £135,000 more than women for their pension by the time they are ready to access it, a new report from Fintuity has said.

On average, men have a pension pot of around £235,000 by the time they reach retirement age, this is 1.7 times higher than for women, who typically acquire around £100,000.

The findings, analysed using recent pensions data by the Office for National Statistics (ONS), reveals that a woman in her 20s would need to save approximately £1,300 extra per year in order to close the gender pensions gap.

However, this average amount increases depending on age. For example, the average 30 year old woman would require an additional £2,000, a 40-year-old woman would require an additional £2,900 and a 50-year-old woman would need to acquire a further £5,300 in order to close the gender pensions gap.

The gender pensions gap affecting single pensioners has grown over the last five years, hitting its lowest in 2014/15 when men’s pensions were just 8% higher than women’s. In 2018/19, however, the gender pensions gap has grown to 26%.

Furthermore, the average weekly income for single male pensioners under the age of 75 has increased from £383 in 2014/15, to £441 in 2018/19. On the other hand, single female pensioners under the age of 75 have actually seen their average weekly income decrease, from £367 in 2014/15 to £333 in 2018/19, marking a £108 weekly difference between single male and female pensioners in today’s figures.

Fintuity financial adviser Elizabeth Scott commented: “The worsening pensions gap in the UK is a detriment to our country’s ability to repair an ongoing gender pay gap, and an inability to aid those women who spend many years raising children and working in part time jobs because of it.

“This problem needs to be tackled head on, with new support initiatives put in place, and encouraged by employers, in order to enable women to get a much better deal. Due to COVID-19, we can expect high job losses for women, especially those who work part-time, meaning it’s likely the pension gap is only going to increase and the urgency for change is higher than ever.

“In the meantime, women of all ages should consider seeking affordable professional financial advice, in order to understand how best to maximise contributions to their pensions pot, put a plan in place to save more efficiently or even acquire another source of income, such as via investments.”

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