A study conducted by Scottish Widows revealed that 35 per cent of women do not have a pension scheme compared to 22 per cent of men, while 7.3 million are “financially dependent” on their partners.

The company also reported that 36 per cent of women said that they were not in a position to increase the amount they are saving towards their retirement.

Ian Naismith, head of pensions market development at Scottish Widows, said that while it is often reported that women earn less in the workplace, it is evident that many are saving less too.

“And even the women that are saving in a pensions [scheme] are saving a smaller percentage of what they earn – effectively compounding the effect of the pay gap and making the gender ‘pensions gap’ even wider,” he remarked.

Prudential recently reported that over one-fifth of women have no additional way of funding their retirement other than their state or private pensions.

Find out more about early retirement and retirement planning

© Adfero Ltd