Gender pay gap greatest for women in their 50s and 60s

Dec 05, 2022

The gender pay gap remains at its widest for women in their 50s and 60s, new research suggests.

Rest Less, a digital news site aimed at people over 50, found that there was a 24% difference between the median gross annual pay of full-time working men and women aged in their 50s – with the gap rising to 26% for those over the age of 60.

The data, taken from the Office for National Statistics, showed that in 2022 the biggest difference in full-time pay was between men and women in their 50s.

Women aged 50-59 earned an average salary of £30,603, which was £7,274 less than men in the same age group, who earned an average salary of £37,877.

The research compared figures from this year with the previous 10 years and found that while the national gender pay gap across all age groups narrowed during the period from 24% in 2012 to 19% in 2022, it remains at its highest for those in their 50s and 60s.

The analysis found the gap was smallest among those aged 22-29, with women earning an average of £26,329 and men earning £28,657 – a gap of 9%.

Rest Less chief executive Stuart Lewis said that the figures highlighted how, because women tend to have greater care responsibilities, they can fall behind and “miss out on salary progression during their careers” which “compounds as time goes on, widening the gender pay gap as we age”.

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He added: “This can have devastating long-term consequences on women’s retirement provision and financial independence into later life.”

“We know that there is a significant private pension savings gap between men and women and it’s no surprise when you see decades of the gender pay gap only getting worse in the run up to retirement – a time in life when people are typically trying to save as much as they possibly can into their pensions”, Mr Lewis said.

“Whilst the state pension age for women is now equal with men at 66, the retirement fortunes of men and women remain anything but equal.”

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