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Systemic barriers drive gender pension gap, report finds

The figures from the University of Edinburgh highlighted lower earnings, employment gaps, and part-time work due to child rearing, plus more unpaid care, as main reasons for the gap. 

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Systemic barriers drive gender pension gap, report finds
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Entrenched systemic barriers, not lack of financial confidence, were found to be the main reasons for the pensions gap between men and women in the UK, according to research from the University of Edinburgh.

Data revealed that women retire with much smaller pension pots than men. 

Analysis found women have 75% less in pension wealth by age 60 than men.

Almost 15 million people in the UK are not saving enough for retirement, with women disproportionately affected. 

Data from Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) found men hold a median of £75,000 in defined contribution pension wealth by age 59, compared to £19,000 for women.

The figures highlighted lower earnings, employment gaps, and part-time work due to child rearing, plus more unpaid care, as main reasons for the gap. 

Gender stereotypes and the mental load also contribute. 

Women spend an extra hour a day on childcare and housework on average, and carry out 73% of the cognitive labour of organising family life compared to male partners.

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Emily Shipp, psychologist and associate at Edinburgh Futures Institute, said: “For too long, the ‘confidence gap’ narrative we see in financial advice and media reports has masked the real systemic, situational and social factors that result in the pensions gulf.

“Mental load and time scarcity operate together. Women are more likely to carry the ongoing cognitive labour of anticipating and coordinating care, while also spending significantly more time on unpaid work. 

“These pressures reduce both the mental bandwidth and the available time needed for sustained engagement with long-term financial planning.”

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Shipp added: “Historically, financial advice and pensions policy have centred on typically male, linear career trajectories and financial goals, rather than the multi-phase, care-interrupted lives many women navigate.

“Redesigning pensions policy and financial environments to better serve more varied priorities and life courses would better serve all genders as we move towards longer, multi-phase lives.”

Data on defined contribution pensions showed that decision making around fund choice, contribution levels and consolidation needs active engagement, not just ‘set and forget’. 

Most people are not aware of this, which leads to lower pension wealth.

Emma Sterland, chief financial planning officer at Evelyn Partners, said: “We welcome this important new report from the University of Edinburgh’s Futures Institute. 

“Its thought-provoking insights challenge entrenched narratives around women and wealth, shining a light on the complex structural barriers that women face as they build their financial security over a lifetime.

“As the founding partner of EFI’s Compassion in Financial Services Hub, which launched early last year, Evelyn Partners is proud to support research that helps to foster a more inclusive, sustainable and compassionate financial system.”

The report was produced by the Compassion in Financial Services Hub (CFSH) at Edinburgh Futures Institute, supported by Edinburgh Innovations, the University of Edinburgh’s commercialisation service.

Tobi Schneider, fintech sector lead at Edinburgh Innovations and co-director of the CFSH, said: “This is an important report, recognising that society is changing, and that financial planning is becoming more and more necessary.

“With an ageing population, without action, we are sleepwalking into financial disaster for a large proportion of people.”

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