Marvin OnumonuPensionBee’s 2025 Pension Landscape showed average UK pension pots rose by 9% to £21,875, outpacing inflation.
Women’s average pots increased by nearly 11% to £16,169, while men’s grew over 9% to £25,652 – this narrowed the gender gap slightly from 38% to 37%.
Under-30s’ pots grew almost 5% to £3,745, and the gender gap closed from 18% to 13%.
In the 30-39 group, pots rose 5% to £10,660, the gender gap dropped to 20%.
The 40-49 age group saw pots rise just under 2% to £23,312 and the gap improved to 24%.
Over-50s had the largest pot growth, up nearly 8% to £42,578, but their gender gap stayed highest at 44%.
Projected pots at retirement went up for those in their 30s and 40s, up £11,535 and £6,327 to £178,439 and £130,140.
Projected retirement pots for under-30s dropped by £13,893 to £181,165, linked to lower weekly incomes.
London and the South East continued to lead, with average pots of £25,838 and £27,727.
The North West had £17,082, while Northern Ireland averaged £15,118. London’s gender pension gap was 29%, much lower than the UK average.
Meanwhile, the South East was at 38%.
Wales and Northern Ireland both had the widest gaps at 43%.
Lisa Picardo, chief business officer UK at PensionBee, said: “It’s encouraging to see both pot growth and a slight narrowing of the gender gap.
“But progress remains frustratingly slow and the regional disparities are stark.
“London savers have pots 70% larger than those in Northern Ireland, for example, which reflects broader economic inequalities that follow people into retirement.”
Picardo added: “Even more concerning is that under-30s are seeing their projected retirement pots shrink due to falling incomes.
“This is a worrying warning sign for future generations who may end up heavily reliant on the State Pension.
“Lowering the Auto-Enrolment age threshold would be a simple yet powerful solution. The magic of compound growth makes early contributions incredibly valuable over longer periods.”
She said: “We cannot allow today’s contribution gaps to become tomorrow’s retirement poverty.”
