New research underlines the gender pension gap by highlighting that women are much likely to pay the minimum amount into their auto-enrolment pension than men.

Standard Life’s Retirement Voice study found that almost three-quarters of women pay just the minimum amount.

In contrast, only 58% of men pay the minimum with 25% paying in more than the minimum. Only 17% of women pay in more than the minimum.

Meanwhile, one in 10 men make occasional extra lump sum contributions but only one in 20 women do so.

The disparity is one cause of the UK’s gender pension gap, which was estimated to be almost 40% in 2019-20, said Standard Life, part of the Phoenix Group. 

Neil Hugh, head of workplace proposition at Standard Life, said: “The disparity in contribution levels between women and men is leading to financial inequality in retirement.”

He said auto-enrolment has been a huge success by bringing 10 million more people into the pension system but, irrespective of gender, the current minimum contribution levels are too low for savers to achieve a comfortable retirement.

As a consequence, he said, there is a significant under-saving problem.

Mr Hugh said: “The gender pension gap is also exacerbated by life stages that can impact women’s earning power – such as taking time out to look after children, the menopause or long-term health conditions.

“Despite shifts in culture and attitudes over recent decades, women still shoulder more than their fair share of caring responsibility for vulnerable adults, like elderly parents, as well as their children.”

He added: “Hopefully the expansion of the government’s free childcare offering announced at the Spring Budget will start the long journey to improving the situation for women – but to accelerate progress, expansion of the auto-enrolment scheme is badly needed.”

New benefit figures published today by the DWP reveal that women also lose out when it comes to the state pension with a gender gap remaining, despite some narrowing.

The figures show that the average weekly state pension income for women in November 2022 was £170.37 per week compared to £175.47 for men. Under the old state pension system, the average weekly income was £152.38 for women and £178.59 for men, a gap of just over £26.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The state gender pension gap continues to close with the difference between men and women’s average weekly incomes reduced to just over £5 per week.

“There’s still work to be done here but when you compare it to the gaping chasm under the basic state pension system of around £26 per week, we can see real progress has been made. However, it is also important to say these are only averages and the data shows around 1.8m people get less than £100 per week in state pension.”

Approximately, 12.6m people receive state pension with just over 3m receiving the new state pension.