Government-backed Pensions Commission calls for action on gender savings gap

Body says, on average, British women approaching retirement have half private pension savings of men – £81,000 versus £156,000 A shake-up of pensions in Britain must involve measures to close the gap in retirement savings between men and women, the revived Pensions Commission is to tell ministers. According to the government-backed body, women approaching retirement have on average half the private pension savings of men, with a median pension wealth of £81,000 versus £156,000. The commission, which is expected to publish its interim report on the long-term future of the retirement system this week, said it would look at how the government could cut the gender pension gap as part of its work towards a final report with recommendations, expected next year. It said closing the gender gap in private retirement wealth was “not only a matter of fairness” but also that failing to do so risked fuelling a rise in pensioner poverty and damaging government finances. First established under Tony Blair’s government in 2002, the Pensions Commission was revived by Keir Starmer last year, amid fears that a crisis in saving for retirement could mean today’s workers will be poorer in later life tha