- Money
Research shows women have 42p put towards retirement for every £1 men save
Karl MatchettMonday 24 November 2025 15:50 GMTComments
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Many Brits are facing a pension shortfall in retirement as a result of concerns that, as a country, we’re not saving enough. But the problem is even worse for women - and the upcoming Budget could only exacerbate the problem.
Research from Royal London shows that on average women have less than half the pension savings of men - £39,000 compared to £92,000.
Although auto-enrolment in workplace pensions has helped a huge swathe of people put money towards their retirement, it’s still not an equal playing field.
Part of that relates to older workers who were not in a workplace pension earlier in their lives, says Rowan Harding, an expert in women’s ethical finance, while other factors like the gender pay gap have widened the problem.
“Someone who is younger is more likely to have been paying into a pension compared to someone from the older generation, due to auto enrolment,” Ms Harding said.
“But there’s a much greater disparity among older workers. Women were previously not included in pension schemes - it was almost a case of, ‘you’re in the typing pool, stay there’ for many roles.”
She added that there are still some people who will not benefit from auto-enrolment. “You have the self-employed, for example, who might not have a workplace pension set up, or women trying to get jobs around family life or care responsibilities.
“They might not think about pensions, or be able to, until a point in life where they don’t have dependents.
“And even if they do, there’s also still a gender pay gap so you may have less surplus cash to put into savings [compared to a man in the same job]. It may be similar roles, but you get a gap in pay.”
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Rather than just focusing on the take-home amount, pensions show how the gender salary gap can have an outsized effect over time.
While a smaller wage for the same job is itself problematic, if the same percentage number of both salaries is paid into a workplace pension, the smaller salary pays a smaller amount in. And, over time due to the impact of compounding, a larger starting number will have a far greater return decades down the line when the pension is needed.
An additional sticking point is that, when it comes to spare money to save from the take-home pay, the lower salary has less available for either long-term saving or investing into a personal pension plan,. Research from Royal London shows women have 42p put towards retirement for every £1 men save.
Meanwhile, there are concerns over Rachel Reeves’ reported plans to cap salary sacrifice schemes. The Treasury may raise £3-4bn through limiting the National Insurance relief on payments made into pensions - but this could instead lead people to simply not pay as much into their workplace pensions, taking the money in their pay packet instead and not saving as much for retirement.
A snap poll ahead of the Budget from pension provider Penfold - though with a limited number of respondents - suggested almost three-quarters (73 per cent) of people believe the government will not protect pensions in the upcoming Budget.
open image in gallery(Getty Images)The prospect of people continuing to under-save for retirement means living standards later in life could only continue to deteriorate - and that may be a bigger problem for women who have less money behind them to begin with.
Sarah Pennells, personal finance expert at the company, has pointed out that women have mid-career additional barriers to overcome too.
“Menopause in the workplace needs attention. It’s an issue that is not only impacting women’s financial futures through missed pension contributions, but is also resulting in a significant loss of talent and experience for UK employers,” she said.
Ms Harding also added that pensions can get overlooked during divorce settlements when the people involved are more focused on property, child care or other assets, and encouraged those going through the process to seek professional advice on a complex topic.
New research from Canaccord Wealth suggests almost three-quarters (72 per cent) of women are actively taking steps to manage their finances, yet fewer than two in ten (18 per cent) say they feel in control of money matters.
Getting started on doing something is key to overcoming that barrier, says one expert - with many people finding the thought of a financial admin task is actually tougher than completing the task itself.
Alice Wright, investment director at Canaccord Wealth, said: “The core challenge for many women is not the task itself, but the thought of the task at hand. Most financial actions – from checking pensions to updating a budget – can be completed in less time than it takes to scroll social media or run a short errand. But for many women, it’s the stress and anxiety that financial and wealth planning presents. It is really important for people to feel that they can grow their wealth with confidence and we’re not seeing enough of that.”
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