The average pension savings gap between men and women has widened to £11,180, despite female savers seeing faster growth over the past year.
Data from more than 337,000 savers analysed in PensionBee’s annual Pension Landscape shows that women's average pension pots grew by 17% to £20,146, while men's grew by 15% to £31,326. The cash difference between their average pots has increased from £9,972 to £11,180.
This means the gender pension gap narrowed from 37% to 36%, and women now have 64p for every £1 held by men, up from 63p last year.
The disparity is driven by structural factors that magnify over time: lower average lifetime pay, higher rates of part-time work, and career breaks for caregiving. Previous research from PensionBee shows that taking on unpaid care across five typical life stages can reduce long-term pension wealth by around £30,000, a burden predominantly carried by women.
If the percentage gap continues narrowing at its current rate, it would take more than 30 years to close completely.
Table 1: Average pension pots by gender
Source: PensionBee Pension Landscape 2026, based on 337,000 PensionBee customers.
Self-employed savers fall further behind employees
Self-employed workers face a 21% retirement savings penalty compared to employed peers, with an average pot of £26,244 against £33,364. The divide has grown sharply in two years, up from 18% in 2024.
Unlike employees, the self-employed are not covered by Automatic-Enrolment. They receive no employer pension contributions and have no workplace pension default, meaning they must arrange and maintain their own retirement savings.
The gap is widest among people aged 40-49, where self-employed savers have 27% less than employed people of the same age. It stands at 15% among those in their thirties and 9% among under-30s.
Women face a smaller self-employment penalty than men (16% compared with 22.0%), but start from a lower average pension pot.
Table 2: Average pension pots by employment
Source: PensionBee Pension Landscape 2026, based on 337,000 PensionBee customers.
All age groups see improvement
Average pension pots grew across every age group. Savers in their thirties saw the strongest growth, up almost 17% to £13,572. Under-30s grew their pots by almost 15% to £4,603. The average pot reached £28,891 for those aged 40-49, up 13%, and £52,894 for over-50s, up 11%.
The data shows the gender gap is smallest among younger savers, but grows with age. Among under-30s, it has narrowed from 11% to 10%, but rises to 19% among those in their thirties, 23% among those in their forties and 43% among over-50s. This leaves women over 50 with an average pension pot £27,283 smaller than men of the same age.
Table 3: Average pension pots by age group
Source: PensionBee Pension Landscape 2026, based on 337,000 PensionBee customers.
The South East has the largest pension pots, while Northern Ireland has the widest gender gap
The South East continues to enjoy the UK's largest average pension pot at £33,761, followed by Greater London at £32,382. Northern Ireland has the smallest at £18,287, around 46% below the South East. The difference between the two regions has remained broadly unchanged for three years. However, the cash gap has grown from £13,477 to £15,474.
Greater London recorded the fastest growth over the past year, at 18%, followed by Scotland and the North West at 16%. This compares with a UK average of 14%.
Regional differences start early. Under-30s in London already have average pension pots of £5,831, 63% more than their peers in Northern Ireland (£3,585). This advantage increases to 93% for those in their 30s, 94% for 40s, before dropping to 53% for the over 50s.
The gender gap also varies by region. Greater London has the narrowest at 27%, while Northern Ireland has the widest at 43%, up from 41% last year. Wales follows at 43% and the East Midlands at 41%. The South East has a smaller percentage gap of 37%, but the UK's largest cash difference at £14,918, reflecting its larger average pension pots.
Table 4: Average pension pots by UK region
Source: PensionBee Pension Landscape 2026, based on 337,000 PensionBee customers.
How this compares to the official picture
These findings align closely with the broader national picture. According to the Department for Work and Pensions’ (DWP) latest official measure, the gender pension gap jumps from 22% for those in their late twenties to 48% for those approaching retirement (aged 55 to 59). When factoring in adults with no private pension at all, the DWP notes that the true gap widens to 62%.
This persistent divide in women's retirement outcomes is increasingly drawing the attention of policymakers. The government’s Second Pensions Commission recently warned that 15 million people are currently undersaving for retirement, potentially reaching 19 million without intervention, and identified women among the groups most at risk..
Maike Currie, VP Personal Finance, PensionBee, said:
“The pension system is failing women and the self-employed, and change is far too slow..
“At the current rate, it will take more than 30 years to close the gender pension gap, leaving another generation of women facing retirement with thousands of pounds less than men. Meanwhile, self-employed savers risk falling even further behind.
“Closing these gaps will take more than merely telling people to ‘save more’. Employers need to make it easier for parents to share caring responsibilities, with gender-inclusive parental leave, government must tackle the eye-watering cost of childcare and parents should consider how to protect both pensions when one partner takes time out to care.
“Auto-Enrolment has brought millions of women into pension saving, but minimum contributions are still too low and too many people still fall outside the safety net. Giving the self-employed the option to pay into a pension automatically through their tax return via Self Assessment, with the freedom to opt out, would be a welcome and simple step forward.
“Everyone deserves a financially secure retirement, including women and the self-employed. Employers, policymakers and the pensions industry must work together to close these gaps, before another generation pays the price.”
Practical steps for savers
- Start early. The gender pension gap is smallest among the youngest savers, and contributions made in your twenties and thirties have decades to grow.
- Protect your State Pension during career breaks. If you take time out to care for children and loved ones, register for National Insurance credits so you keep building qualifying years towards the full new State Pension, worth £241.30 a week in 2026/27.
- Keep contributing to your private pension where you can. Even a small monthly increase compounds into a meaningfully larger pot, helped by tax relief.
- Balance pension saving across a household. If one partner steps back from work to care, a working partner can keep paying into their pension, up to £2,880 a year topped up to £3,600 by tax relief, so retirement savings don't all accrue to one person.
- Review your pension regularly. Check your pots are invested in line with your goals, and consider combining old pots so they are easier to manage.
Notes
Full Pension Landscape findings, including all data in a downloadable format.
Methodology: Figures are based on a snapshot of PensionBee's Invested Customers at the end of Q3 in each year. This snapshot includes all customers who joined during the year, as well as existing customers. Year-on-year changes reflect movements across the whole invested base, not the saving behaviour of a fixed group of individuals.
Table 5: Summary of Pension Landscape findings
Source: PensionBee Pension Landscape 2026, based on 337,000 PensionBee customers.
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