Only 23% of women are confident they will be able to retire comfortably with over a third (35%) expecting to be unable to enjoy a decent income in retirement.

According to a major new study, fewer women than men have pensions and those who do are saving less than their male counterparts.

The research of 4,000 UK adults was conducted for wealth manager Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management in February. 

It exposes the continuing gender gap when it comes to pensions although there are positive signs of change among younger women.

It reveals that over a fifth (26%) of women at present have “no formal pension savings at all”, compared to just 16% of men.

Women’s pension pots were also found to be substantially smaller too.

The average pension pot across all respondents stood at £103,037. However, male respondents’ pension pots were found to be significantly higher, averaging at £142,234, while women’s came in at just over a third of this, at an average of £51,384.

Despite the poor picture for women’s pensions at present things may be changing for the next generation. While women over the age of 40 are generally less likely to have a pension than men of a similar age (63% vs 80%), men and women in their 30s were found to be equally likely to have a pension (77%).

For adults under 30, women were found to be more likely to have a pension than men (76% vs 59%).

The research also revealed that most people tend to leave the management of their pension to their workplace pension provider (45%). Men were slightly more likely than women (43% versus 37%) to manage their own pensions, such as via a self-invested personal pension scheme (SIPP).

More than half (56%) of those who self-manage their pensions admitted that they seldom check their retirement savings – of which 64% were female.

Christine Ross, head of private office (North) & client director at Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management, said: “Women on average continue to remain a long way behind men in pension savings, with the problem at its most acute among older generations who are closer to retirement. After decades of gender disparity, it’s encouraging to finally see clear evidence of change, with pension take up reaching parity among thirtysomethings, and women in their twenties ahead of their male counterparts.

"The recent steps taken at a government level have the potential to further close the gender pensions gap, including the free childcare scheme expansion announced at the Spring Budget, which should allow more working mothers to return to the workplace and build their pension savings.

“But despite signs of progress, there is still considerable work to be done. Education around pensions needs to be improved, as does women’s confidence in financial products."

• Research was conducted by Opinium among a sample of 4,000 UK adults between 20 and 27 February 2023. Of the overall sample, 1,949 (49%) were male and 2,037 (51%) were female, while 701 (18%) had a net worth of more than £100,000. Overall, the mean value of financial assets was £107,307 and the median value was £37,501. Handelsbanken Wealth & Asset Management’s report is available here: Can we solve the gender wealth gap?