The gender pay gap at the Pensions and Lifetime Association (PLSA) remained flat between 2023 and 2024, but down 25 per cent from 2021, according to its recently published gender pay gap report.

The mean gender pay gap in April 2024 was reported as 19 per cent, the same as reported in April 2023, compared to 44 per cent in 2021.

The mean bonus pay gap did however increase by 4 per cent since 2023, reported as 52 per cent in April 2024 and 48 per cent in April 2023.

The report also revealed that the proportion of males receiving a bonus payment was 96 per cent in April 2024, compared to 97 per cent of females.

Bonuses were paid at the start of 2024 to all staff (excluding new starters close to assessment date), compared to no bonuses having been paid to staff for 2020 (April 2021 numbers), due to the deficit incurred by the PLSA during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Commenting on the fact that having a smaller number of employees can significantly impact the figures, the report stated: “Since we are a small organisation, the pay of a few individuals can skew our figures significantly. For example, a replacement member of staff of the opposite sex can change a quartile percentage split by 10 percentage points. In April 2024, we had 23 (21 in 2023) male employees and 30 (27 in 2023) female employees meeting the reporting requirements.

“The fact that the chief executive is male has a significant impact on the gender pay gap measures. If the chief executive were female (everything else being unchanged) the mean gender pay gap would be reduced to 2 per cent.”

The report was published alongside the PLSA’s Annual Report and Accounts 2023, which highlighted the association’s focus on “investing, developing and retaining staff and equipping them with tools to have the maximum impact for members”.

The association also created several new roles in 2023, while it continued to introduce more support to staff including, stated the report, “both development and wellbeing, informed by our annual employee surveys, which once again showed increased engagement and satisfaction working at the PLSA”.

Other developments in 2023 included company-wide 360 reviews, the introduction of a new medical cash plan, and improved policy in areas such as hybrid working and sabbaticals.

Commenting on both reports, PLSA chief executive, Julian Mund, said: “Our success is attributable to the hard work of our dedicated team. In recognition of their efforts, we awarded staff bonuses and appropriate salary increases.”

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