- AJ Bell Money Matters research shows 29% of men are contributing between 3% and 5% of their salary to a pension, compared to 34% of women*
- Meanwhile 36% of men are contributing between 6% and 11% of salary, compared to 29% of women
- Men are more likely to use a one-off payment like a bonus to power their pension (44% compared to 36% of women)
- Government figures estimate that women hold 48% less in their pensions than men
- There are seven pension contribution hacks that could make a significant difference for women
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, comments:
“Building a pension is a bit like welding or knitting. It’s so much easier if you’re not trying to do it with one hand tied behind your back. For women, being on a lower average income, being more likely to have career breaks for caring responsibilities, and possibly working part time for a period, makes it much harder to build a big enough pension for the retirement you deserve.
“There are no easy solutions, but don’t give up hope, because there are some pension contribution hacks which can help you overcome some of these barriers and build a more resilient retirement income.
- Ask to be automatically enrolled into your workplace pension
“If you’re making less than £10,000 a year with any one employer, you won’t be automatically enrolled into the pension scheme. As well as those on lower salaries, it affects those working fewer hours and those building an income from a number of part-time jobs – and making less than £10,000 in each of them.
“However, those who earn between £6,240 and £10,000 with one employer have the right to opt in and be treated like any other member of the scheme, so when you pay in you get employer contributions too. Those who make less than £6,240 can ask to join a pension scheme through work, but won’t necessarily get employer contributions, so check what’s on offer.
- Use the Universal Credit trick
“If you’re working and receiving Universal Credit, pension contributions can be particularly valuable. If you earn above the work allowance, of £710 a month if you have no housing support, or £427 a month if you get housing support, you can use pension contributions to bring you back below it.
“If you pay into a pension, your contributions are subtracted from earnings to calculate if you breach the allowance. Given that your Universal Credit is cut by 55p for every £1 you earn over the work allowance, if you can pay £100 into your pension, you could get a 20% top up from the taxman, and get £55 more in Universal Credit. In addition, when calculating the value of your savings and investments to see if you are over the £16,000 savings limit, none of your unused pension pots are counted.
- Take advantage of the employer match
“When you pay into a pension through automatic enrolment, your employer will pay in a minimum of 3%, and you’ll pay in as much as is needed in order to take the total to 8%. Some employers will stick to the bare minimum, while some will split the contributions so you both pay 4%, and others will offer to match extra contributions up to a specific level. If there’s an employer match, it’s a brilliant way of super-charging your efforts to save into a pension, so it’s worth checking your contract or talking to HR to see how much extra money you could make this way.
- Try not to stop during maternity leave
“If you go on maternity leave, it can be tempting to pause pension contributions, because money tends to be tight. However, if you can keep up payments, you only have to pay a percentage of the actual maternity pay you’re getting, while your employer needs to keep making the same contributions as before, so you get far more bang for your buck.
- Plan for pensions together – your partner can pay in if you’re not working
“If one of you stops work for a period or moves into a part-time role for caring responsibilities, you will already be having conversations around how you will pay vital bills between you – usually including the mortgage. It’s worth adding your pension to your conversation and considering whether there’s a way to maintain payments. If you’re not earning, your partner can pay in up to £2,880 a year and it will be topped up by the government to £3,600 – providing a vital boost while you take on more of the joint responsibilities.
- Pledge to increase contributions
“If you can’t afford higher contributions today, pledge to pay more in when you get a pay rise or work longer hours. One way to make sure this happens automatically is to work on the basis of paying in a certain percentage of salary - so it automatically rises when your income does.
“Don’t stop there though, because it’s a good idea to revisit your payments with each pay rise, to see whether there’s room in your budget to increase it. AJ Bell Money Matters’ research into the gender pension gap shows that men are more likely to pay in a higher percentage of their salary. Only 29% are contributing 3%-5% of salary compared to 34% of women. Meanwhile 36% of men are contributing 6%-11% of salary, compared to 29% of women. A higher salary will mean you should be able to afford to put a larger percentage away for the future.
- Use one-off payments to boost your pension
“Men are more likely to use a one-off payment (like a bonus) to power their pension than women. Some 44% would use it this way, compared to 36% of women. This is likely to be because with larger average incomes, they have the freedom to cover one-off costs through their salary, so feel they can spare more of their bonus for retirement.
“However, the nature of a bonus is that it isn’t guaranteed. It means it’s never a good idea to mentally spend it before you receive it. This gives you the freedom to start with a blank page when considering how to spend it, and your pension deserves as much attention as everything else.”
*Source: AJ Bell/Opinium. Based on a nationally representative survey of 2,000 UK adults carried out between 2-7 April 2026 for AJ Bell Money Matters gender pension gap report
