4State pension: Women ‘set to receive higher sum than men in less than 10 years’
STATE PENSION payments could be higher for women on average than men within 10 years due to a marked shift in payments, an expert has suggested.
State pension payments will be vital for millions, but people will get different amounts. This is usually down to the National Insurance contributions a person makes throughout their working lifetime.
The full new state pension typically requires some 35 qualifying years, with the full basic state pension needing 30 qualifying years.
However, when it comes to comparisons between the old and new schemes, there is somewhat of a gender disparity.
Men who retired after 2016 on the new state pension receive a smaller sum than their older counterparts due to the overhaul of the state pension system.
In the past, groups such as women and carers have been disadvantaged, but the new system has sought to redress this balance.
It represents a gender shift which may carry on into the future, according to one pension expert.
Sir Steve Webb, former pensions minister, told the Telegraph: “The new state pension costs roughly the same as the old but we rebalanced the distribution a bit towards those who were doing badly under the older system.
“The money to pay for that came mostly from men.”
It could mean that by 2030, women may receive a higher state pension than men.
Recently, changes were heralded for women retirees, after research found the state pension is “reducing the gender retirement gap”.
Analysis shared with Express.co.uk earlier this year by Canada Life showed a changing picture for women when it comes to the state pension.
Their research showed men who reached state pension age before April 2016, the average state pension is £172.64 per week.
For women on the older scheme, however, the average state pension payment per week is £145.87.
There has been a marked improvement for women when it comes to the new state pension, according to Canada Life.
The average new state pension figure for women is £164.74 weekly for women, while it has slightly dropped for men at £170.50 per week.
Andrew Tully, technical director at Canada Life, told Express.co.uk: “It is positive to see the new state pension is reducing the gender retirement gap.
“However women are still facing retirement with substantially less saved in their pensions than men.
“There is much work to be done to help boost women’s retirement incomes.”
