A study conducted by Profile Pensions has found that women are at risk of receiving retirement incomes thousands of pounds lower a year than men.
The pensions expert analysed its own internal data from more than 20,000 customers aged 22 to 66 to see which areas of the UK had the largest pension gender gaps.
Throughout the UK, there are significant differences in pension value, with women in some areas of the country retiring with a pension pot that’s nearly half the size of men.
Northern Scotland is where the pension gender gap is widest, where men’s pension pots are almost 50 per cent bigger than those belonging to women. The average value of men’s pensions in this area is £41,603, nearly double the size of the average woman’s pension value, standing at £20,978.
When looking at the country as a whole, the average male pension has a value of £40,084, compared to £24,445 for females - a difference of just under 40 per cent or £16,639.
The region featuring the lowest pension gender gap is Greater London, where the average female pension pot is 30 per cent higher than the female national average.
Michelle Gribbin, Chief Investment Officer at Profile Pensions, said: “What we see with these findings, sadly, is that the gender pay gap and the gender pension gap go hand in hand.
“Men, on average, earn more than women, and therefore can save and receive larger contributions from employers into their pension pot. It’s clear there’s much more to be done to help women gain the security they need going into retirement.”
Under current UK law, employers contribute 3 per cent to the employee’s pension pot, 4 per cent comes direct from their payroll and the remaining 1 per cent is made up by tax relief.
Employees are able to decrease or increase this anytime that they see fit.
The full report can be viewed online here.
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