Men’s final salary pensions nearly double women’s at state pension age

[IwantToRetire]

Men’s DB (final salary) annual pensions are worth nearly twice the value of women’s, at £13,900 compared to £7,500 net per annum, while their DC (contribution) pensions are worth more than three times as much, at £90,000 compared to £28,500.

The findings come from a Department for Work and Pensions analysis of 7,802 adults aged 62 to 65 from the 1958 National Child Development Study, examining their preparation for retirement and overall pension adequacy.

Around 8 in 10 participants had some form of private pension, but women were more likely to rely heavily on the State Pension and less likely to meet a moderate Retirement Living Standard.

Meanwhile, nearly half, 47 per cent, of participants were expected to depend on the state pension for between 67 and 100 per cent of their retirement income. This group was more likely to include women, those with lower educational attainment, the self-employed and renters. Around half were also estimated not to have sufficient pension income to maintain their pre-retirement standard of living.

Continues https://corporate-adviser.com/mens-db-pensions-nearly-double-womens-at-state-pension-age/

i saw mine.
And my DH took the 2nd half of our 3 years parental leave with DC2 (for reasons i had them 18 months apart, i took 3 years, he took 1.5 years)

For most of the DCs lives i out earned my DH by a fair bit - we have levelled off now and it is fine.

You have to make informed decisions. But you also have to make hard decisions. And that means informing yourself of the hit to your life (work, free-time, pensions etc) and how to mitigate that (the working outside the home partner pays into a pension for the SAH partner etc etc)

Several times a week there are posts on mumsnet from exhausted women whose husbands have decided that even though they both work f/t the DC are her responsibility. Inevitably they talk about compromising at work or going p/t because they're knackered and their "DH" doesn't help

Do these couples have discussions before marriage & dc about work, childcare, chores, about expectations etc? Yes, a discussion doesn’t mean things will be stuck to but if you have aired your wants & needs you tend to notice red flags a lot quicker & are less likely to sleep walk into situations.

Sometimes I read threads on MNs about a women not married, not working & not on the deeds & I’m gobsmacked.

I said this on a thread laxt week to a woman who was asking about getting pregnant at 24 to her boyfriend because it ‘felt the right time’. I, and one other poster said it was madness, I said she needed to be paying into her pension in her 20’s and it was madness to not do that, not get financially sorted in any way, and with a boyfriend, not a husband. The thread was quickly deleted as op ‘wasnt getting the support she wanted’ and we need to be more considerate of the feelings of posters. Ffs.

Dont want to, or know that if they worked full time they would also still be doing 100% of parenting and housework?

I don’t want to work full time & not sure I ever will. I absolutely do not do 100% of the parenting & housework & never have! I’m not a unicorn.

How many stay at home or part time mums do you know with housekeepers and nannies?

Why is that the alternative? Very few mothers who work or don’t work have nannies & housekeepers!

Yes ok but when you have young kids what’s your choice? You don’t see them

Again such an unhelpful attitude. When you work you still see your dc 🙄

and that is a fine decision if you make it fully informed about what may happen if you don't have someone paying into your pension and/or bringing home the bacon.

I agree with pp that young women seem much more informed these days. Everywhere i have worked since i went back after DC there have been discussions presentations (arguments about "how easy you have it" when younger women have been wrestling young DC while my wrestles went unnoticed by them because they didn't care) and signing up for pensions.

(not in UK though so it may be diffferent).

Some people in all demographics just don't want to work. They can't then complain that they don't get the benefits of working - like a better pension.

For sure. I don't want to work, but i also don't want to starve and live in a cardboard box under a bridge.

But - and i know i'll get jumped on for this - it is up to parents, and especially women since it is women who suffer most from this, to bring up their sons to be full and equal members of the household and all that involves.

And no one ever accuses a man of not seeing his dc if he works, why is that?

Yes a young baby needs a mother but fathers/children relationship are equally important. I have a fantastic relationship with my dad & he was very hands on when we were dc. This is despite the big job, a mum who didn’t work, an au pair & cleaner etc. It taught me the importance of a father who was hands on & what to look for.

If you can afford not to work in 2026 your partner must earn well to support a family. By default also has a higher pension. Couples share pensions but if you split you will get half. Overall you are ok in that scenario, just make sure you are married.

@Brefugee my DHs mother was the breadwinner which was actually quite unusual in those days. His dad worked p/t & did everything childcare, domestic related. Because my DH grew up in this environment he doesn’t see housework etc as a women’s job. If he had his way I wouldn’t be allowed in the kitchen! 😆

I'm old, but I still knew at a very young age that I wanted my own money and pension. Not to have to rely on a man. I don't understand why younger women don't feel like that.

@Victoriantimes I have always worked, paper round at school, proper jobs throughout A-levels, uni etc & worked f/t between dc but have been p/t for about 8 years now. I earn well & primarily work for my pension (it’s a good scheme & I do AVCs). I’m very fortunate that my salary isn’t needed as such so a lot of it is invested.

I was just making the point that not every woman who works p/t or stays at home is coerced into it.

My brother would love to see his children more, but he does have a big pension.

His wife would love a big pension but she spends far more time with the children.

I would love a Porsche but it would deplete my savings.

One cannot have everything they want

One cannot have everything they want

Indeed

My DH has been brilliant, despite growing up as the boy in a gritty northern town as the only boy in a house with 6 women who did everything. So it is possible for men to develop the skills/mindset without parental input, but that would be a huge help.

I grew up in a family with a dad in the Manliest Of Man Jobs Ever, and a mum (trailing spouse) who worked whenever she could (which wasn't always). And my brother and i grew up with a role model for equality (to the point that when mum was hospitalised for 3 weeks, my dad asked her for an easy cake recipe, because he wanted to carry on her habit of baking a cake on Fridays for all of us to enjoy over the weekend) and participating fully in earning, house stuff, and bringing up 2 children.

I would never have put up with a useless DH!

This is me. I sacrificed career (to some extent, I did create a self employed business that brought some money in) to raise our children and facilitate us having lots of animals. Now the DC are older I am supposed to be having "my turn" career wise but I've become very ill and am now unable to work. I have a personal pension but it's never going to be the same as DH NHS one.

I'm lucky tho as I didn't marry an arse and all our savings are in my name only, we only have a joint current account and everything goes through me as the one that manages our finances. It's the only saving grace to a very imbalancer position and I realise most women don't have that. As it stands I'll be fine but I could so easily have been destitute

@Brefugee Love that

So on a thread highlighting that men’s final salary pension is nearly double that of women’s the consensus on this thread is that it’s women’s fault for not making better choices! You couldn’t make it up! We are our worst enemy, literally!

no the point is that lots and lots of us don't have this issue.

And that while it is a huge huge problem -the information is there, and that women like us have been shouting about this for years so younger women should have been informing themselves alongside other publicity.

You're fully behind the WASPI women, i take it?

ETA: the disparity between men's and women's lifetime earnings, the Gender Pay Gap, and pension inequality is hardly new news.

And as we all know: nobody gives you anything for free. So we all have to help ourselves. My DDs know all about this kind of thing and are not prepared to have unsupportive partners. I am aware of financial coercion etc, and if i thought one of my DDs was exposed to that, i would step in for sure.

I will never rely on a man. My 'D'F left my DM for another woman when I was 14 and some extremely lean times followed. It took my DM 15 years to get to a place of financial security, she has her own house now and her pension is on track. She is actually in a better place than my father.

DH and I both work 4 days a week. I feel this is fair and neither of us are the default parent, both of us have had similar hits to our pension. More importantly, should shit hit the fan either or both of us can easily go back to 5 days a week.

That isn’t what is being said though…

Women need to realise what they are giving up and be aware of the risks.

I think at the very least be married before sacrificing their financial security for the family.

Thatchers neoliberalism obviously is very much alive and well on Mumsnet!

What would you say is the answer then?