Sunday is marked as International Women’s Day. Unfortunately in the UK when it comes to many things – including pensions – women still have a fight on their hands.

Research by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) and NOW pension provider reveals that the pension system is still short-changing women.

The research by PPI, part of a wider report on under-pensioned groups being released later this year, reveals that, on average, women in retirement have 55% lower pension income than men.

The average annual private pension income (not including the state pension) for men aged 65 and over is £8,620 – for women it’s £3,920. This represents a gap of £4,700 or a 55% decrease. That’s despite a record number of women, 72.4%,  being in employment- the highest since records began.

This is because women are more likely to work part-time in their career while caring for children or further down the line to care for elderly relatives. The result is both interrupted pension contributions and limited earning opportunities, and consequently a pension pot £100,000 less than the average man’s.

Inequalities experienced during working age life are also associated with lower incomes in later life. The gender pay gap means that women working full-time still earn almost £6,000 less than men – with an average annual income of £24,150, compared with £29,980 for men.

Of the 13.4 million employed women in the UK, around 3 million (23%) fall below the qualifying earnings threshold of £10,000 for automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, in comparison with just 12% of male workers.

Click on this link for more information about NOW pensions: What is NOW Pensions?