Women Lose Out In Retirement

Gender pay gap shows women retiring this year will earn £6,500 less than men

Elderly money
Elderly money
(Image credit: REX)

Gender pay gap shows women retiring this year will earn £6,500 less than men

The gender pay gap is shown to extend to retirement age, with women who are retiring this year looking to be £6,500 a year worse off than their male counterparts.

They will also have the lowest incomes recorded since 2008, a report by insurers Prudential warned.

Prudential's annual survey, which looked at 1,000 people retiring this year, showed female workers expect to have just £11,750 a year to live on from private, company and state pensions, more than one third lower on average than the £18,250 annual income of this year's male retirees of around £18,250.

Last year the gender gap was £750 lower.

Experts say the figures could show that some women have scaled back pension contributions to pay for family needs due to squeezed household incomes.

They added the trend of more women taking part-time jobs could also explain this.

According to Prudential, there are signs women will be able to narrow this gap - but it is unlikely to be wiped out completely for 'many years to come'.

Richard Eagling, head of pensions for financial website Moneyfacts, said: 'It is obscene in this day and age that women should face a more uncomfortable retirement when they make so many sacrifices to bring up children and act as carers.

'These figures clearly show the extent to which women face a greater risk of poverty in retirement than men'

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