THE GENDER gap in private sector workplace pensions still exists, new data published this morning shows, with 76% of female employees having a workplace pension in 2024 compared with 81% of male employees.
In the public sector, by contrast, 90% of male employees and 90% of female employees had a workplace pension.
More broadly, the Office for National Statistics report revealed that just over 8 in 10 workers (82%) were members of workplace pension schemes in 2024.
It also found that the trend in participation has stabilised in recent years following steady growth between 2012 and 2019 after the introduction of automatic enrolment, a policy introduced by the government to help more people save for retirement.
Meanwhile, for employees who were in a workplace pension scheme in 2024, around 3 in 10 (34%) were members of defined benefit schemes, 4 in 10 (40%) were members of defined contribution schemes (which includes pensions in the National Employment Savings Trust), and 1 in 4 (25%) were in a group scheme.
Additionally, the report showed that, in 2024, using qualifying earnings for the public sector, the median employer contributions were 27% for men and 26% for women, whereas for the private sector, median employer contributions were 6% for men and 5% for women.
Underlying pensions gap
Commenting on the report’s findings, Gosia Dawson, Director at Glade Financial, said: “The gender pension gap doesn’t start at retirement, it builds quietly throughout people’s working lives.
“Automatic enrolment has been a huge success in bringing millions more people into workplace pensions, but the latest figures show it hasn’t fully solved the underlying pensions gap.
“Women are still slightly less likely to participate in workplace pensions in the private sector, reflecting broader employment patterns. Women are also more likely to work part-time, take career breaks or earn below the automatic enrolment threshold, which can limit both access and contributions.
“The fact that participation is equal in the public sector shows that when employment structures are more stable, the gap narrows. The next challenge is making sure pension policy reflects modern working lives, not just traditional full-time careers.”
Long-term impact
Joe Farmer, Independent Financial Adviser at The Retirement Studio a financial advice firm in Liverpool, added: “The gender pensions gap in the private sector is something advisers regularly see reflected in real life. Career breaks, part-time work and time taken out to raise families can all have a long-term impact on pension contributions and overall retirement savings.
“Automatic enrolment has been one of the most positive changes to retirement planning in the UK, but simply being enrolled in a workplace pension doesn’t automatically mean someone is on track for retirement.
“A lot of people assume that because they have a pension through work everything will take care of itself, but contribution levels are often still quite modest.
“The success of automatic enrolment has been getting people into pensions. The next step is making sure people are contributing enough and actively engaging with their long-term plans.”
Anita Wright, Chartered Financial Planner at Ribble Wealth Management, agreed: “The gender gap tells us that access to pension saving is still being shaped by earnings patterns, part-time work, career breaks and lower-paid roles, which disproportionately affect women.
“In practice, that means equal retirement outcomes do not flow automatically from equal opportunity on paper. Automatic enrolment has unquestionably improved the savings culture, but it was never designed to solve adequacy on its own.
“Also, getting people into a scheme is only the first step, not the finish line. The more important planning issue is whether contribution levels are actually sufficient to produce a decent retirement income.
“Also, in many households men tend to take a more active interest in pensions and investments, whereas a significant number of women still defer those decisions to their partner or assume retirement provision will be shared.
“That arrangement can work while the relationship remains intact, but it creates vulnerability if circumstances change through divorce or bereavement.”
Participation not enough
Philly Ponniah, Chartered Wealth Manager and Financial Coach at Philly Financial, said the auto-enrolment figures are encouraging but that participation in itself is not enough to guarantee a secure retirement.
She said: “Automatic enrolment has been one of the success stories of UK personal finance, but this data shows the job is only half done. Yes, around 8 in 10 workers now have a workplace pension, which is a huge shift from a decade ago but the risk is that participation can make people feel the problem is solved when contribution levels are still often too low to build real retirement security.
“I see this with some of my clients where they have been automatically enrolled and assume they are “sorted”, but many stay on the default contribution level without ever checking what that actually translates to in retirement income.
“The gender pensions gap in the private sector also matters. Women are more likely to take career breaks, work part time or fall below auto-enrolment thresholds, which can mean smaller pension pots over time.
“The next challenge is not just getting people into pensions, but helping them contribute enough and stay invested for the long term.”
