Women’s pensions at retirement are half the size of men’s (£12,000 versus £26,000) regardless of the sector they work in, according to a Legal &  General study that looked at 4.m million savers. Katharine Photiou commercial director of workplace savings at the firm reflects on the findings.

We looked at data from over four million workplace members and found that every industry in the UK has a significant gender pensions gap. This is a serious issue in itself, but it deepens when life expectancy is taken into consideration too.

We’ve all heard about the gender pay gap, but very few discuss the gender pensions gap, despite the fact so many women experience it.

This shows more needs to be done to boost engagement with pensions, particularly with those who feel less confident, and who may need help on where to start when it comes to making financial decisions.

Millions of people would benefit from a wider range of support services to make more informed decisions about their savings and investments.

But this support needs to be personalised to achieve any real shift, and this is where government and industry need to work together. Pensions can seem complicated but they’re just a regular savings plan with some tax perks. We need to demystify pensions and get back to basics.

• The views of contributors are not necessarily those of the Council. To read the research in full click here.