Gender pension gap: why women need to boost their retirement pot

Are you familiar with the term 'gender pension gap'? It means that women are still facing retirement with substantially less saved in their pensions than men, even in 2022.

For example in Germany, the average pension gap for a woman at retirement was found to be at 46%, a shockingly high figure compared to other countries in Europe.

Why is that the case?

There are several reasons: the existing wage gap between men and women, shorter working hours, family-related interruptions in women's employment, higher portion of unpaid care work and many more.

Michaela Sommer , Director Corporate Pension Solutions at AllianzGI, has been working extensively as part of an expert group at Allianz to shed light on this challenge. Last week, she shared with a large group of peers at AllianzGI why it is so important to have conversations about pension solutions early on in your career and not be shy about addressing the topic with your partner, friends and family.

"As a result of the gender pension gap, women will have a lower standard of living in retirement than men. While some changes in working and saving patterns are likely to reduce the gap in the future, we need to raise awareness with policymakers as well as within our own family and friends to further reduce the gap and ensure that this topic is on the agenda for women and men equally"

The good news: the 'gender pension gap' can be closed with additional corporate or private pension provisions.

The first step is always to establish a status quo. At the beginning of the year, it is the ideal time to check the forms shared by your pension plan providers, statutory, private and occupational pension schemes and all other potential means of income. There are many excellent online and offline resources available to assist with questions. Online forums and blogs have become a great starting point for conversations with peers, no matter if you are starting out with the basics or looking for more specialized insights. Follow the hashtag #equalpension on social media to dive right in.

The best time to act is now.