Research has revealed a 49% difference between the male and female average pension in the UK, according to the latest review of the Gender Pension Report by the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD).
GAD analysis of the GPS gender pension gap saw that on average, the male pension equated to £8,466 while the average female’s equated to £4,285.
A 46% difference was also seen between actively contributing males and females in legacy accrued final salary benefits and a 35% difference between male and female actively contributing members post-2014 accrued career average benefits.
Such details have been recorded and reviewed to provide the necessary evidence to help develop government policy on the pensions scheme.
“Pensions are an important aspect of people’s lives due to the sheer amount of time people spend working towards them, so it is vital that there are equal opportunities to earn a fair pension fund for life after work, rather than face a significant gender disparity,” said Fraser Stewart, Chief Commercial Officer, Lyfeguard.
“More education and effort should be put into pensions, in general, in order to maximise the benefits of these schemes. Over half of Brits (52%) struggle with managing important documents such as pensions, according to Lyfeguard’s research and this can have a knock-on impact on well-being, on top of facing stark disparities in gender pension pay.”
The report has also brought more attention to differences in pay, working patterns as well as rates of individuals opting out of LGPS membership.