Women retire on less pay than men

Women planning to retire in 2015 are preparing themselves to live on an income 25% lower than their male counterparts, according to new research from Prudential.

The insurer?s annual ?Class of? research, which tracks the future financial plans and aspirations of people planning to retire in the year ahead, is now into its eighth year and has highlighted a retirement income gender gap of ?4,800 for the Class of 2015. Women planning to retire this year have, on average, an expected retirement income of ?14,300 compared with ?19,100 for men.

However, the good news is that the gender gap is shrinking and is now at its narrowest since 2009, when Prudential first started tracking the difference between male and female retirement income expectations.

This year?s female retirees have the highest average expected annual retirement income ever recorded by Prudential?s research and expect to be nearly 17% better off than those who planned to retire last year. In contrast, men?s expected retirement income expectations have increased by just 1% since last year.

The rise in women?s expected incomes is reflected in their increasing optimism about retirement ? more than two-fifths of women (44 per cent) believe their pension will provide for a comfortable retirement, compared with just 29% in 2014. Meanwhile, 50% of women feel financially well-prepared for retirement, compared with just 41% last year.