An insightful report9 makes it clear just how large the gender pension gap has become. A typical woman in her twenties, it reveals, would have to work an average of 40 years longer than a man to build up the same pension at retirement, with women currently averaging a £100k savings deficit compared to men when they retire.
Mind the gap
The study identifies several reasons for this sizeable difference between men and women’s pension funds. Not only do men tend to earn more than women, but they are also more engaged with saving for retirement. Meanwhile, women spend seven extra years on average in part-time work, further diminishing their saving ability.
More needs to be done
The report called for several actions to improve the situation, including raising the default employee pension contribution, extending auto- enrolment to the self-employed and lowering the minimum age for the scheme from 22 to 18. Currently, employed under-22s aren’t enrolled automatically but may opt in and benefit from employer contributions if they earn at least £6,240 a year. 9Scottish Widows, 2020
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