Irish women would have to continue to work for an extra 10 years while contributing to a pension in order to match men’s retirement savings, according to research by Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland, which identified a 31% national gender pension gap. In addition, 65% of working women over 50 have never calculated how many paydays they have left until retirement, compared to 53% of men. Aviva said this is a “simple” but “effective indicator of how much time they have remaining” to prepare for retirement. Aviva said women are also more likely to face barriers to starting or continuing pension saving, including working part time, 23% compared to 7% of men; and providing for unpaid care, 36% compared to 26% of men. The firm added that its modelling shows that women typically earn less over their working lives, start pensions later, and take more career breaks.

Source: Irish Examiner March 08, 2026 15:38 UTC