Women 'must save for retirement'

Women do not save enough, according to the government

Women need to start paying more into private pension schemes to avoid financial hardship when they retire, the government has warned.

Pensions minister James Purnell said politicians could not tackle the pensions "gender gap" on their own.

The Department for Work and Pensions says only 30% of women retire on a full state pension compared with 85% of men.

Its figures show 38% of women pay into a private pension as against 46% men - and women save smaller amounts.

"The worrying reality is that if women don't make their own saving a priority, they could find themselves worse off in retirement than they expect," Mr Purnell said in a statement.

Women's minister Meg Munn added that women need to think about private savings "throughout their lives".

"Women who are not saving could see the independence they currently enjoy replaced with financial dependence on the state in retirement," she said.