The pensions industry has been urged take the lead on disability inclusion, after research from the Society of Pension Professionals (SPP) found that disabled workers are among the most under-pensioned groups in society, facing higher living costs, systemic barriers in employment and lower lifetime savings.

In the third paper of its Inclusive Futures series, the SPP warned of a growing ‘disability pensions gap’, which it said leaves workers at greater risk of poverty in later life.

Contributing to the report, Disability Rights UK chief executive, Kamran Mallick, said disabled people remain locked out of fair employment opportunities, with disabled workers still twice as likely to be unemployed as non-disabled peers and earning on average 13.8 per cent less per hour.

These inequalities, he argued, feed directly into pension outcomes.

“The pensions industry must lead by example, actively supporting systemic changes to improve employment outcomes for disabled people,” Mallick said.

“We can all be part of a national movement committed to closing the disability employment and pension gaps, making a meaningful step towards a more inclusive and equitable future.”

The paper also noted that lower wages, part-time roles and breaks from work reduce pension contributions and retirement incomes.

With around 16 million disabled people in the UK, Mallick warned that no sector can afford to overlook the social and financial costs of exclusion, adding that pensions providers should endorse the Disability Employment Charter and ensure products and communications are accessible.

Travers Smith consultant lawyer, and SPP member, Charlotte Feld, added that many disabled employees are denied reasonable adjustments, forcing them out of work and into poverty, while others face higher day-to-day costs that eat into their incomes.

“Anybody can become disabled. Forty-five per cent of people over state pension age are disabled. We are the most under-pensioned group,” Feld said.

“I hope policymakers and industry gain more understanding of the barriers disabled people, and carers, face and more fully include disabled people - whether as your colleagues or as pension scheme members.”

With this in mind, the SPP stated that disability inclusion should be embedded into broader diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) strategies across the industry, including commitments to monitor and report on disability pay gaps, adapt recruitment processes, and collaborate with disabled employees and networks to co-produce workplace practices.

The paper follows a growing focus on pension inequalities, with the gender pensions gap and lower contributions from insecure employment already high on the agenda.

The SPP stressed that the same scrutiny must now be applied to disabled workers, given their heightened risk of poverty in later life.

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