The gender pensions gap begins at the age of 28 as more women take career breaks or work part time than men to have children or care for family, resulting in reduced average pension contributions, according to research by AJ Bell Money Matters.

Between the ages of 29 and 40, 21 per cent of women said they worked part time, compared to 5 per cent of men, impacting their pensions over the long term.

The firm warned that auto-enrolment rules meant more women were missing out on pension contributions.

Furthermore, women were found to have financial priorities that were more aligned with life events, such as buying a home or saving for travel or children.

Once women hit the age of 41, they began to prioritise their pension equally to men, with 29 per cent of women aged 41 to 55 citing their pension as a financial priority, compared to 30 per cent of men.

“There is no hiding from the gender pension gap,” said AJ Bell senior pensions and savings expert and Money Matters ambassador, Charlene Young.

“But looking at how and when it starts could provide valuable insight into the best ways of working towards closing it.

“New research from AJ Bell Money Matters shows that among retail investors, men and women’s pension contributions start taking a different path at age 28.

“It’s impossible to ignore salary differences. government data tells us that women working full time are paid, on average, 6.9 per cent less than men. That’s a sizeable difference in take home pay, but it also means that women are paying less into their pension each month, which has a snowballing effect on their pension pot over time.

“As many women take career breaks to have children or to care for family, cracks start appearing from missed or lower contributions in the key years when pension growth is so important. These cracks manifest as a chunky gender pension gap when it comes to retirement.”

AJ Bell Money Matters urged pension providers to communicate with women in ways that ‘reflect their reality’, focus on the incentives to save into pensions, and use clear jargon-free communications.

---