The number of women working part-time compared to men risks making the pensions savings gap even worse, Aegon has warned.

According to the UK’s new labour market figures published today, 22 January, of the 8.4 million part-time employees, nearly 75 per cent are women, making it a strong “influencing factor in the pensions savings gap”.

Research by the provider found that by the time women reach age 50, they have on average only half the pension savings (£56,000) compared to their male counterparts, who will have saved on average £112,000.

Aegon pensions director, Steve Cameron, said: “Whilst it is good to see the proportion of women in employment is close to a record high at 71.2 per cent and closing the gap compared to men, today’s figures show there are still significant differences within the labour force.

“Of the 8.4 million part-time employees in the UK nearly three quarters of these are women and although there are a number of reasons for this, it’s an influencing factor in the pension savings gap that exists between genders.”

Cameron added that there may be a number of reasons for more women working part-time that men.

Furthermore, the market figures found that the number of self-employed people working rose by 1.67 per cent, highlighting the need for a solution to their pension savings problem.

“The self-employed are a growing part of the employment landscape but do not benefit from being automatically into workplace pension so risk lagging behind in their pension provision in retirement. It is crucial, therefore, that we find ways to make pensions more attractive to this large proportion of the workforce,” Cameron added.

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