Revealed: Retirement pay gap widens with women £6,400 worse off than men

Survey: Women retiring this year will have £6,400 less than men
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Chloe Chaplain28 June 2017

Women retiring in 2017 will be £6,400 worse off than men, a new survey has revealed.

The retirement income gender gap has grown by £1,000 over the last year, according to the research from Prudential.

The survey of 1,000 people revealed that, on average, a woman retiring in 2017 will have £6,400 a year less than a man.

It suggests the income gender gap for pensioners is at its widest since 2014 and revealed that, as women’s retirement income falls, men's income continues to grow.

Women planning to retire this year can expect an annual retirement income of £14,300 - £200 less annually than in 2016.

The same research last year revealed woman retiring in 2016 were £5,300 worse off annually than a man preparing to give up work.

By contrast, men's retirement salary has been growing for five years in a row - rising from £19,800 in 2016 to £20,700 this year.

Kirsty Anderson from Prudential said the growing pay gap was the result of women taking career breaks in order to look after children.

But she added: "However, with a greater number of women staying in the workforce for longer these days, and employers increasingly offering more flexible working patterns, the outlook looks more positive for women's retirement incomes in the future."

A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: "Thanks to our pensions reforms, we expect 3.6 million women to be newly saving or saving more by next year compared to 2012 and the new state pension also means that, by 2030, three million women will on average be better off by £550 a year.

"But there is more to do to ensure that women have the opportunity to build up the pensions savings they will need, which is why we will be increasing minimum contributions for workplace pensions over the coming years."

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