The gap between retirement income for men and women is more than £100,000 when life expectancy is taken into account, Cebr research commissioned by More2life has revealed.

It found that men anticipated to have an annual retirement income of £19,748, while women expected their income to be £14,833 a year, resulting in a gap of £108,130 if both live to the national average age.

The gap rises to £186,120 for women who are married or in a relationship, with men expected to receive an average of £8,460 more annually than their female partners.

More2life’s research found that the gender gap remained large for younger couples in retirement, with the average man in a relationship between the ages of 54 and 64 expecting to receive or are already receiving £5,964 more than their female partner.

Single men in this age cohort receive an average of £3,750 more per year compared to single women in the same age bracket.

“Today’s findings put a price tag on gender and suggest that while women may live longer, their financial circumstances often mean that this needs to be done on a more frugal basis than their male counterparts,” More2life CEO, Dave Harris, commented.

“This stark difference highlights not only the need to address the root causes of financial gender inequality but the need to better support women both in the lead up to and during later life.”

The research found that 76 per cent of men and 74 per cent of women over the age of 54 rely on their state pension.

However, men are more likely to have private sources of income, with 47 per cent of men saying they have income from a final salary or defined benefit workplace pension, compared to 37 per cent of women.

Furthermore, over a quarter of men (28 per cent) use drawdown to fund their retirement, compared to 19 per cent of women.

“At a time when there has been significant disruption to many people’s retirement savings, we need collaboration from industry and government to encourage people to engage with long-term financial planning,” Harris added.

“While our findings show that men and women are broadly consistent when it comes to state pension engagement, there is a clear disparity between the genders when it comes to utilising alternative retirement income sources.”

Commenting on the findings, She Can Prosper founder, Diane Watson, said: “While the gender income gap is a well-known issue, the gender pension gap is often overlooked, and today’s findings highlight that there remains a clear disparity between men and women when it comes their income in later life.

“More2life’s research reveals an extremely worrying reality that women are at risk of going into retirement less financially prepared than their male counterparts. What is more, the ongoing coronavirus crisis is set to exacerbate this problem for many more women over the years to come.

“There are great strides to be made in closing the financial gap between men and women in later life. It is crucial that the financial services industry encourages and empowers women to become more involved in financial planning earlier on in life, so that they can have more independence and security in retirement.”

The research was collated and analysed by Cebr, using the Wealth and Asset survey, Wave 6, UK Data Service; the Bank of England NMG survey; and a survey commissioned by More2life, which was carried out by Opinion Matters and received 1,029 responses from individuals aged 54 and over.

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