Men's pensions in UK worth two-thirds more than women's

Men planning to retire this year are set to have pensions that are nearly two-thirds bigger than women's, research showed yesterday.

The average man who starts drawing a pension during this year is set to receive an annual retirement income averaging £12,169, but women who give up work this year are set to receive just £7,424 annually, according to Prudential.

The group warned the pension gap between men and women was continuing to grow, with the difference widening to £7,424 a year this year, up from £6,642 the previous year.

Pensions for new retirees fell for both sexes during the past 12 months, but women saw their retirement income drop by three times as much as men.

On average women who give up work this year expect their pension to be 11 per cent lower than those who retired last year, while men saw an average drop of only 3.5 per cent.

Karin Brown, director of pensions and annuities at Prudential, said: "The reason women appear to get less in their pensions than men is embedded in years of history and, to a certain extent, because some women take a career break to have children which has an impact."

The research also found nearly a third of people aged over 55 said they were delaying their retirement plans due to the economic downturn and falls in the value of their investments.