Women would need to work an additional 18 years full-time to save the same amounts of money into their pensions as men, research suggests.

Women aged 65 will typically have accumulated £69,000 in private pension wealth, compared with average men’s savings of £205,800, according to workplace pension provider Now: Pensions and the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).

With women living on average four years longer than men, they need to save more throughout their lifetime to accommodate longer periods in retirement, the report said.

Just 27% of women work mostly full-time throughout their careers, compared with 45% of men, researchers said.

Women spend an average of 10 years away from the workforce to start families and care for children and relatives, contributing to both the gender pay and pensions gaps by presenting fewer opportunities for career progression and higher salaries.

Childcare costs are also a hindrance to many working households and many women do not earn enough in a single job to meet the £10,000 earnings trigger to be automatically placed in a workplace pension.

Joanne Segars, head of trustees at Now: Pensions said: “Millions of women have not been able to save via a workplace pension, nor take advantage of their employer contributions and the tax relief.”

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