The Invisible Gap: The pension crisis nobody's talking about
- Jessica Still
- Mar 3
- 4 min read
This International Women's Day 2026, the theme is Give to Gain, the idea that investing in women creates a multiplying effect that benefits everyone. So today, we're giving something worth having: clarity.
Because there's a gap hiding behind the one you probably already know about. And the most empowering thing you can do is know it exists.
The gender pay gap has its own awareness day, its own LinkedIn discourse, its own column inches. The gender pension gap gets silence. And yet for most women, it's the one that matters most, and it's exactly what we're talking about today.
The number that should stop you in your tracks
Women in their late 50s have less than two-thirds of the pension savings of men*.
At the current rate of progress, that gender pension gap won't close until 2088†.
No, that’s not a typo. 2088.
It means that if nothing changes, women retiring today, tomorrow and for the next six decades will arrive at the end of their working lives with significantly less to live on and statistically more years ahead of them to fund it. More time. Less money. The maths simply doesn't work.
Here's how it happened
The pension gap isn't a personal failing. It's a system doing exactly what it was built to do or more precisely, failing to account for the reality of women's working lives.
If you’re an LGPS member, your pension depends on your current salary or, if you’ve been a member for a long time, your salary when you retire. Which means anything that interrupts your service record or suppresses your pay can quietly chip away at your pot. Career breaks for caregiving. Years working part-time to manage family responsibilities. Slower progression into senior roles. Each one compounds over decades in ways that are almost impossible to see until the damage is done.
The pay gap then piles on. Lower earnings mean lower contributions, which means a smaller pension at the end of it.
Most women don't realise how exposed they are until it's almost too late to do much about it.
Why the knowledge gap’s worth closing first
The pension gap is structural. You can't personally dismantle the systems that created it. But you can close the knowledge gap and that's where real power lives.
Most women significantly underestimate the impact of gaps in their contribution record. A two-year career break. A decade of part-time hours. These can be reasonable, necessary life choices in the moment. Over thirty years of compounding, they look very different.
Knowing where you stand today is the single most useful thing you can do. Not eventually. Now.
What closing the gap actually looks like
Check your pension statement
If you’re part of the LGPS, your annual statement shows your projected pension based on your current service record. Most people file it and forget it. Read it. Does the number reflect the retirement you're planning for?
The Retirement Living Standards offer helpful guidance on different retirement lifestyles:
Household | Minimum | Moderate | Comfortable |
One person | £13,400 | £31,700 | £43,900 |
Two people | £21,600 | £43,900 | £60,600 |
These figures can help you sense-check whether you feel on track to the retirement you want. You can learn more about what the different levels could fund here.
Look at your service record for gaps
Career breaks, periods of part-time working or unpaid leave can leave holes. In some cases, you can buy back lost years through Additional Pension Contributions (APCs). It's worth understanding whether that's an option for you.
Consider Shared Cost AVCs
If you’re in the LGPS, your pension is your foundation, but it doesn't have to be your ceiling. Shared Cost AVCs let you build on top of it and contributions are taken from your pay before Income Tax and National Insurance, so it costs you less than you might think.
Think about the long game
Women live longer on average. That's not a scare tactic, it's a planning reality. Your money needs to stretch further, which means the gap between what you have and what you might want could be wider than it appears on paper.
Use the support available to you
A one-to-one conversation with a financial wellbeing specialist costs you nothing and could reframe everything.
You can book a one-to-one with one of our financial coaches here.
You can also book a spot on one of our International Women’s Day webinars, talking through the Gender Pension Gap and how to close it.
The second best time is today
Fifty years ago, women couldn't open their own bank accounts. These things feel like ancient history but they're not. The pension gap is the modern chapter of the same story; a structural inequality that's been hiding behind a more famous one.
You can't fix 2088 by yourself. But you can make 2045, or 2035 or even 2030 look different.
The best time to think about your pension was ten years ago. The second best time is today.
† Data sourced via https://prospect.org.uk/news/gender-pension-gap-narrows-but-public-sector-schemes-lagging-behind
This is not financial advice. A pension is a long-term investment. The fund value may fluctuate and can go down. Your eventual income may depend upon the size of the fund at retirement, future interest rates, and tax legislation. The value of investments and income from them can go down. You may not get back the original amount invested. Capital at risk. A pension plan cannot typically be accessed until age 55 (rising to 57 from 2028), except in cases of ill health. Tax treatment is based on individual circumstances and may be subject to change in the future.
A Shared Cost AVC scheme is a pension product for active LGPS members and can only be accessed from age 55 onwards, rising to 57 in 2028. My Money Matters support your Shared Cost AVC journey and the fund you choose to invest into will be managed by your SCAVC provider.
Whilst Shared Cost AVC schemes can offer valuable benefits, they may not be suitable for everyone, and you should consider if it’s right for you. You can speak to a financial adviser, or book a 121 with a Financial Education Coach, if you require guidance.
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