Women would need to earn more than double the average salary a year between ages 45 and 68 to achieve the same pension wealth as men by retirement, research from Interactive Investor has revealed.

This amounts to a £74,000 salary for women compared to the average salary of £35,000.

According to the Department for Work and Pensions' Gender Pensions Gap in Private Pensions: 2020 to 2022 research, women aged 45 already face a £52,000 pension wealth gap, with average pension savings of £48,000 compared to £100,000 for men.

This analysis assumes that both groups contribute 8 per cent of their earnings (3 per cent employer contributions and 5 per cent employee contributions) until age 68, with 5 per cent of investment growth.

Under these assumptions, women must contribute £495 per month (8 per cent of £74,000) from age 45 to reach a retirement pension of £450,000 by age 68.

However, men need only contribute £233 per month (8 per cent of £35,000) to achieve the same.

Women earning the average £35,000 are expected to face a £160,000 shortfall, with an estimated pension of £290,000, compared to £450,000 for men earning the same.

This assumes both start earning £35,000 from age 45 and already have an average-sized pension at that age.

Interactive Investor senior manager, Camilla Esmund, said that the calculations are illustrative but hoped they would serve as another way to highlight the “significant hurdle” women still face when it comes to building long-term wealth.

She explained that multiple “well-documented” factors contribute to the gap, including time out of work or part-time roles in their thirties and forties to care for family, which leads to smaller pension values and greater financial stress later in life.

Despite progress on the gender pay gap, she called it “disappointing” that many women still struggle to achieve adequate pension savings by retirement.

Esmund added that although it is “encouraging” to see the government commit to looking at the gender pension gap as part of ongoing pension reform, she emphasised that there is “still a need to help women take matters into their own hands and gain control of their long-term financial futures”.

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