New analysis from the Cebr commissioned by equity release lender more2life found men expected to have an annual retirement income of £19,748 whilst women were anticipating an income of £14,833 in later life.

It suggests, when life expectancy is taken into account, the basic ‘gender pensions gap’ could be as much as £108,130, said more2life.

This rises to £186,120 for women who are married or in a relationship. Indeed, the men quizzed for the study, thought they would receive £8,460 more annually than their partners in retirement.

Division of assets

As well as pension income, the study revealed men tended to have sole ownership of the majority of assets.

Indeed, 42% of males aged 54 and over who were in a relationship said that their wealth exceeded that of their partner, compared to just 13% of women.

Exactly half the men surveyed (50%) said they had private pensions compared to only 39% of women and men tended also to own high value items such as cars.

While women were more likely to have cash savings and property wealth independence, 29% of women said they did not own property wealth at all, compared to just a quarter of men (25%).

Dave Harris, chief executive officer at more2life, said the findings put a price tag on gender and suggested that while women may live longer, their financial circumstances often meant they were living on a more frugal basis than their male counterparts.

“This stark difference highlights not only the need to address the root causes of financial gender inequality but the need to better support women both in the lead up to and during later life,” he added.

“Part of that is encouraging them to think carefully about how they will fund their retirement using all of their available assets including their housing wealth.”

There are concerns that whilst there was awareness of the gender income gap, when it came to pensions the financial imbalance was overlooked.

Diane Watson, founder of She Can Prosper, said: “Today’s findings highlight that there remains a clear disparity between men and women when it comes their income in later life.

“more2life’s research reveals an extremely worrying reality that women are at risk of going into retirement less financially prepared than their male counterparts.

Impact of the pandemic

“What’s more, the ongoing coronavirus crisis is set to exacerbate this problem for many more women over the years to come.

“There are great strides to be made in closing the financial gap between men and women in later life.

“It is crucial that the financial services industry encourages and empowers women to become more involved in financial planning earlier on in life, so that they can have more independence and security in retirement.”