Employers contribute £47,000 less to women's pensions

Employers contribute as much as £47,000 less into women's pension schemes over their working life compared to men, a study has found.

Revealing the report, Zurich Insurance said the issue stemmed from the gender pay gap, as well as the fact men tend to work in industries and sectors with a greater propensity to generous pension contributions.

Based on a review of 250,000 schemes, researchers found men were typically paid 7.8 per cent of their salary as a pension contribution, compared to seven per cent for women.

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As men are already typically paid more than women, this meant the value of employer contributions over the four years was £3,495 for men and £2,489 for women.

Zurich said: "The 'triple effect' of smaller salaries, career breaks for women and lower contribution rates needs to be addressed: we can't ignore a £47,000 shortfall," reports Sky News.

A separate study also suggested women suffered because they are more likely to work in multiple jobs that do not qualify for auto-enrolment in a pension.

"Citizens Advice said that 72,000 women were missing out on auto-enrolment pensions, which require employers to pay a pension automatically, unless a worker deliberately opts out," the BBC says.

Women are more likely to have multiple jobs, each paying less than the £10,000 threshold at which the rules kick in.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said: "Many people - particularly women - work several part time jobs, which helps them manage commitments like childcare or study.

"But while in many cases they earn over £10,000 and pay tax on this combined income, they don't have access to a workplace pension and miss out on the opportunity to save for their retirement."

A spokesperson for the Department of Work and Pensions said: "There's more to do, especially for people with more than one job, and we're currently reviewing the policy to see how it can be improved."

A thorough review of the auto-enrolment legislation is due to take place later this year.