Male workers save an average of £91,465 more into their pensions than their female counterparts between the ages of 50 and 64, new research from PensionBee has revealed.

PensionBee’s analysis showed that men aged 64 had accumulated an average of £439,581 in pension savings, £139,451 more than women of the same age.

The provider noted that much of this accumulation happened after workers turn 50.

According to PensionBee's analysis, men tended to participate in more hours of paid work per week, at a higher median hourly rate, throughout their working lives than women, which had a compounding effect in later life.

PensionBee revealed women aged 50 to 64 experienced an average hourly pay gap of 25 per cent, with part-time work being undervalued compared to full-time work.

This is compounded by the fact that women are more likely to be in part-time work than men, with men aged 50 to 64 working an average of nine extra paid hours a week compared to women of the same age.

Women aged 50 and above were also found to be twice as likely to provide unpaid care for others in comparison to their male counterparts.

The difference in paid working hours tends to first present itself in a women’s late 20s to early 30s, the time when mothers typically tend to have their first child, according to the provider.

PensionBee CEO, Romi Savova, commented: “Women are most likely to take on care responsibilities throughout their lives, and to participate less in paid work as a result, leading to lower incomes and lower retirement savings.

“Whilst there is a role for individuals to play, it is not fair for them to shoulder the full burden. More supportive employer policies, a culture of gender equality, and a more transparent defined contribution pension system can help empower consumers to save for a happy retirement.

“With increasing life expectancies meaning more and more older workers will need to take on caring responsibilities, particularly for elderly parents, urgent action is needed to prevent older workers from needing to stay in the workforce for longer, to be able to save enough to support their own retirement and care needs."

PensionBee noted that, if caring responsibilities were shared between genders, more women would be able to stay in full-time work throughout their careers (including after the age of 50), resulting in a women’s overall pension pot size increasing by more than £106,000.

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