Women retiring this year have the lowest annual retirement expectation since records began in 2008, at £6,500 a year less than their male counterparts, a report by Prudential has warned.

Prudential’s annual Class of 2013 research tracked the plans of people entering retirement this year, surveying 8,676 UK non-retired adults aged 45+, including 1,007 who intend to retire in 2013. It found that women expect an average income of £11,750 per year compared to an average of £18,250 for men – representing a five-year low in retirement income expectation among women.

It showed that the retirement income gender gap is 13 per cent wider than it was in 2012 – with women’s average expectation for 2013 falling by £500 and men’s expectation increasing by £250.

The research also found regional differences in retirement income expectation where the pension gender gap is widest in the East of England. Women in the region expect the lowest retirement incomes of any region at £9,100 per year compared to £19,400 among men – a gap of £10,300.

However, men in the West Midlands have the lowest expectation of any region at £14,050 compared to £10,300 among women (the second lowest annual income among women of any region), representing the narrowest pension gender gap of £3,750.

Prudential retirement expert Stan Russell said: “The pension gender gap remains stubbornly wide. The retirement incomes of both men and women are under pressure, but for women the strain is particularly pronounced this year as their expected incomes reach an all-time low.”

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