Under a third (29 per cent) of women feel confident about their ability to make pension contributions, compared to 49 per cent of men, research from Fidelity International has found.

Fidelity International’s sixth annual Women and Money study also found that the approximate value of a retirement pension pot for women was £51,780, while for men it was £82,760.

The research revealed that 24 per cent of women do not feel confident about the level of contributions they are making to their pension.

In addition to this, 22 per cent of women increased pension contributions over the past 12 months, while 12 per cent decreased their contributions and 65 per cent said they had stayed the same.

In particular, the research found that women decreased their pension contributions by an average of £172.59 over the past 12 months, while men on average decreased theirs by £316.05.

However, on average, those women who have increased their pension contributions increased their savings by £315.86 over the past 12 months, while men have on average increased theirs by £542.02.

When asked if they actively make decisions on how their pension should be invested, 22 per cent of women said yes, 44 per cent of women said no and 7 per cent said they were not sure.

Additionally, six in 10 (60 per cent) of women said they do not regularly make additional contributions to their pensions.