The gender pension gap is a measure of how women’s pensions income compares with men’s. The figures generally show that females enter retirement with considerably less money saved in their pension pot than their male counterparts, due to a variety of reasons.

To mark International Women’s Day, the experts at money.co.uk have put together a handy guide explaining the gender pensions gap and offering all the top tips and tricks when it comes to narrowing the divide – and boosting your pension pot.

Sara Benwell, Pensions Expert at money.co.uk, said: “The gender pension gap refers to the difference in pension savings between male and female workers, and reveals a discrepancy in the savings that men and women have at their disposal when it comes to retirement.

“It exists for a variety of reasons, including the shortage of women hired into senior positions, pregnancy and childcare (affecting workplace pension contributions and career progression), lower pay for women (the gender pay gap) and lack of government action to tackle the issue.

“In real terms, this means that many women enter retirement with a significantly smaller pension pot or ongoing earnings than men. Therefore, lots of female workers must plan years, and sometimes decades, ahead in order to narrow the gender pension gap.

“One way to do this is by enrolling in your workplace pension and maximising the amount your employer is willing to pay in. Some employers increase contributions in line with your own personal contributions – doubling your total. And even if your request is rejected, you might still get tax relief, so it’s always worth asking.
“If you don’t have a workplace pension to contribute to, open a private one and contribute to that. Remember that the earlier you start saving, the more effective this will be.

“You should also claim all the National Insurance credits that you are due if you’re away from work due to pregnancy or childcare, which you can do on the government website here. And remember that you can top up your pension pot by buying back any credits you missed out on.

“Another handy hack is to claim tax relief. When you save into your pension, the government adds between 20% and 45% (depending on your rate of of income tax) as a reward for saving for the future. This is a form of tax relief.

“Employers generally provide this through HMRC automatically, but you should double check with your boss to make sure. If you are self-employed, then you can claim pension tax relief through your self-assessment tax return.

“When it comes to pension plans, equality rules mean there aren’t any specifically for women. However, several firms are campaigning for government action to help address the gender pension gap. These include NOW: Pensions, Legal & General, Aviva and Scottish Widows.

“These firms are using their platforms to highlight the issue and campaigning for pension reforms to make it easier for women to save for retirement.

“Meanwhile, it’s worth noting that some industries pay women more than men, although these tend not to be the highest-earning professions. According to the ONS’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings, these are the job roles in the UK where women earn 10% or more per hour than men:
Hotel and accommodation managers and proprietors
Security guards and related occupations
Personal assistants and other secretaries
School secretaries
Counsellors
Building and civil engineering technicians
Special needs education teaching professionals
Midwives

“To compare pension plans from all the top providers, use money.co.uk’s comparison tool here: https://www.money.co.uk/pensions.htm.”