Women paid more into their pensions than men in January at one provider for only the second time, driven mainly by women aged 40 to 49, according to a new study.
Female customers of pension consolidator PensionBee contributed 104% of the amount men contributed in January, despite accounting for only 42% of total customers.
Women aged 40 to 49 drove much of the overall increase, contributing 85% more than men in the same age group during January.
The provider has seen consistent year-on-year increases in contributions by women every January. In 2024 women contributed less than half of men’s total, rising to just under 60% in 2025.
The annual surge in pension contributions coincided with HMRC’s 31 January self-assessment tax deadline.
Separate data from the Office for National Statistics suggests that self-employed and freelance women in their 40s are making significant last-minute lump sum contributions to bolster their retirement savings and make the most of pensions tax relief.
Numerous reports and research in the past have suggested that women save less in pensions and have substantially smaller pension pots.
Maike Currie, VP of personal finance at PensionBee, said: “Seeing women out-contribute men for the crucial self-assessment month of January is very encouraging, showing more women in their forties are in self-employment and/or are higher rate tax payers and conscious of the importance of making pension contributions.”
There was also a large personal asset gap, with men having average assets of £145,000 in comparison to £79,000 for women.
Men were also much more confident in managing their pension savings than women. Under a third (29%) of women said they felt confident in combining or transferring pensions compared to 44% of men.