The Gender Gap is Widening in UK Pensions

Here’s some news you don’t want to hear on a Wednesday morning: The gender pay gap doesn’t stop when you retire.

According to new statistics, the gender gap in UK retirement incomes has widened dramatically over the last decade. Leaving some pensioners unable to make ends meet.

The average single retired woman now takes home £85 less than her male counterpart per week, according to new data.

Mutual insurer Royal London issued the figures this week after a detailed analysis of newly published statistics from the Department of Work and Pensions.

The research showed that between 2006-07, the average retired single woman had a gross income of £294 per week, while her male counterpart received £325 – a gap of £31.

But by 2016-17, the gap had nearly trebled to £85, with the average woman on £316 per week and the average man on £401.

Why is this happening?

Well, the report gives two reasons. The first reason is the earnings of women over pension age have remained flat while those of men have doubled. The second reason is that occupational pension incomes have risen more sharply for men compared to women.

Steve Webb, the former Lib Dem pensions minister, said the figures revealed a shocking trend.

“Much more needs to be done to tackle the disadvantages faced by women in the later-life jobs market, as well as doing more to ensure women are building up better pensions in their own right in the future.”

Further research from Prudential which was released this week found that  18% of women will retire without a pension this year compared to only 7% of men.

This is an improvement compared to 2016 where 22% of women had no retirement compared to 7% of men. However, it’s clear we still have a long way to go to achieve pension equality.

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Author Alice Murray

Alice Murray is a Content Creator at Jobbio with a passion for Employer Branding and Graduate Culture. She's a keen traveller and a self-proclaimed lazy runner.

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