Scottish Widows x Women in Data®

Women retire with on average £113,000 less in their pension savings than men, according to Scottish Widows’ most recent Women and Retirement Report

May 20, 2026

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Kezia Darmadi

Communications Officer

Read More About Kezia Darmadi

Women retire with on average £113,000 less in their pension savings than men, according to Scottish Widows’ most recent Women and Retirement Report

The reasons behind this gap are clear:

→ Unequal pay
→ Career breaks
→ Health factors
→ Unequal shared parental leave

Yet challenges like these are still too often left out of the conversation.

At the Women in Data® flagship event in March, Susan Hope and Maria Herrero-Bullich unpacked how these inequalities compound over time and impact women’s long-term financial outcomes.

Maria also shared Scottish Widows’ data-led approach to driving action, including the development of their career break modelling tool, designed to help women and families better understand the financial impact of taking time away from work.

Their latest report found that:

→ 40% of women did not financially plan for their career break
→ 51% struggled financially while they were off
→ 56% never considered the impact career break would have on their retirement.

A clear reminder that awareness alone isn’t enough, practical tools matter.

And the conversation continued beyond the stage at the Scottish Widows exhibition stand, where attendees explored #PensionMirror, an AI-powered tool designed to help people understand how their pension savings compare with others in their age group.

Thank you to both speakers and the wider Scottish Widows team for bringing such an important conversation to our community