Underfunding of pensions is a serious problem in the UK, and reams of statistics and surveys tell us just that every week. But the scale of the problem is far worse for one group of people: women.
New numbers from Prudential show that women retiring this year will receive on average a third less income than their male counterparts, equating to a massive £5,750 each year.

Although the gender gap has closed slightly since 2010, when women could expect to receive £7,400 less than male retirees, this can be attributed to men receiving less pension than women receiving more.


The government is well aware of this problem and the flat-rate £140 state pension that will be introduced next year will go some way to rectifying the gap when it comes to the state pension. However, it is within the realms of the private pension that women are falling behind.

Considering women aged 65 can expect to live for another 16 years compared to 12 years for a man, we should be putting away more for our twilight years, not less, than the other half of the population.

So why do women save less? Well, there are the obvious reasons, such as women have career breaks to have children, then go back part-time when their children are young.

And in this ageing population women are also more likely to shoulder the burden of caring for elderly relatives so effectively take another career break.

But there may be more to it. Speaking to female independent financial advisers suggests that women have a tendency to bump themselves and their financial future to the bottom of the list when they are working out the household finances.

Whereas they often see their husband or partner's pension contribution as an essential spend each month, they see their own pension contributions as optional. This is especially true when times are tight and money has to be stretched further.

Although it's noble that women want to put their families first, many are failing to see the terrible impact irregular pension saving will have on their retirement.

It's a sad fact that 49% of women are concerned that they will not have enough income for a comfortable retirement, according to the Prudential survey.

With women more financially independent than ever, we should be proud to take control of our future finances and make sure we can continue to live the lives we want to in old age.

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