Gender Pensions Gap 2026 

LONDON, March 26, 2026 — Mercer, a Marsh business (NYSE: MRSH) and a global leader in helping clients realize their investment objectives, shape the future of work and enhance health and retirement outcomes for their people, has released new insights from now:pensions and the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) ahead of the launch of their forthcoming Gender Pensions Gap 2026 report. The statistics reveal that women retire with total pension savings worth nearly 55% less than men when they reach retirement.

The data shows that by the time a woman reaches retirement age (67), she will, on average, have pension savings of around £105,000. This is compared to a man who, on average, will have saved £232,000 in the same period. This is a savings gap of £127,000.  

Automatic enrolment (AE), introduced in 2012, has brought more than 22 million people into a workplace pension scheme. But to qualify for AE, people need to earn at least £10,000 per year in a single role. Plus, contributions to a pension are only taken once the qualifying earnings amount of £6,240 has been deducted.

Women are more likely to work part-time, and 79% of such women earn less than £10,000. In comparison, only 9% of part-time male employees earn below the trigger level. Women are also more likely to receive lower levels of pay over the course of their working life due to the gender pay gap, which means they contribute less to their pension. As a result, when analyzing the gender pension gap across all age groups, it continues to grow. Men and women aged 70-74 have a gap of around 50%, and the gap is highest at age 75+, where it is around 74%.

To address this imbalance, now:pensions argues that a robust discussion is urgently needed on the removal of the £10,000 AE earnings trigger and the lower earnings limit. Taken together, these measures could bring 726,000 more women into AE, with up to £218 million of annual contributions, according to the PPI. These measures need to be considered in the round, including timing, sequencing, and the impact on lower earners.

If these measures had been in place at the start of automatic enrolment in 2012, women would have achieved an additional £7.7 billion pounds in pension savings.

Patrick Luthi, Mercer UK’s Head of DC Product and now:pensions CEO, said:

“We acknowledge there has been some progress in addressing the gender pension gap.  However, women in the UK still face significant barriers to build adequate pension savings, which can lead to poor retirement outcomes.  We continue to call for a review of the auto-enrolment earnings trigger and the lower earnings limit. Removing these could go some way to addressing this historic imbalance by helping women to build a financially secure future – but the wider impacts on affordability need to be explored.”

Joanne Segars OBE, Chair of the Trustee Board of the now:pensions Master Trust, commented:

“We are committed to pushing for changes to make the UK’s pensions system more inclusive and equitable. We’re proud to continue raising awareness of the savings gap, which is hiding in plain sight. We have long called for urgent policy action to help reduce the huge gender pensions gap we see today. Without further changes, millions will continue to struggle to achieve a secure retirement.” 

^{About Mercer}

^{Mercer is a business of Marsh (NYSE: MRSH), a global leader in risk, reinsurance and capital, people and investments, and management consulting, advising clients in 130 countries. With annual revenue of $27 billion and more than 95,000 colleagues, Marsh helps build the confidence to thrive through the power of perspective. For more information about Mercer, visit mercer.com, or follow us on LinkedIn.}

^{About now:pensions}

^{now:pensions is an award-winning UK workplace pension provider that manages the retirement savings of millions of members on behalf of tens of thousands of employers from a wide range of industries. The company is a business of Marsh (NYSE: MRSH), a global leader in risk, reinsurance and capital, people and investments, and management consulting, advising clients in 130 countries.}