Only half of part-time employees in the UK have a workplace pension, despite it being over four years since the introduction of auto-enrolment, according to a new report.

Of those working part-time, women (54%) were more likely than men (43%) to be saving into a workplace pension, despite typically earning less (£13,468) than men (£14,908).

However, women were more likely to doubt whether they are saving enough for retirement, with 79% having doubts about whether their pension pot will be able to fund their retirement compared to 65% of men, according to the report from pension and investment provider Fidelity International.

Fidelity said it is likely that many of the workers without a workplace pension are likely to be eligible for one under auto-enrolment. The Office for National Statistics recorded the average part-time annual pay in 2020 as £13,803, with the threshold at which workers quality for auto-enrolment currently standing at £10,000.

Industry type played a considerable role in whether employees have a workplace pension. Only 57% of all workers in the retail and leisure sectors said they had a workplace pension, followed by 62% of people working in the building and transport sectors. The industries where workplace pension engagement was highest were finance, education and healthcare.

Maike Currie, investment director at Fidelity International, said: “Auto-enrolment has helped millions of workers save towards their futures, but there is still a significant number of people who are falling between the cracks. Not enough part-time employees are engaged with, or even have, a workplace pension. More women than men work part-time, and while our research shows that women in part-time employment are more likely to have a workplace pension compared to men, they are still a fifth more likely to doubt whether they will have enough saved for retirement.”

Opinium conducted research among 2004 UK men and women on behalf of Fidelity International between 7 and 12 January.