Women losing out in retirement

The transport union is fighting to close the pension gender gap

Woman in Wales are losing out to men when they retire, according to a new study.

The Transport and General Workers' Union claims that female pensioners are having to live on less money than their male counterparts.

Their average weekly income - the study shows - is £115 compared to an average of £166 for men.

The T&G is calling on the government to make the task of closing the pensions gender gap a "major priority".

The study - released to mark International Women's Day - shows that women in Wales are living on 69% of the average pensions income of men.

Its key findings, which were based on the government's own figures, show that women in pensioner couples across the UK receive just two-fifths of the income of their male partners.

It is scandalous that many older women have to live on a pittance Liz Lewis, T&G

Pensions inequality in England is the most pronounced.

Women pensioners there receive an average of just £97 a week, 57% of men's income; whilst Scottish women pensioners receive 68%.

Diana Holland from the T&G said the government should be "shocked" into action by these figures.

"Despite recent union successes such as gaining equal pension rights for part-time workers, the pensions system is still failing women and younger women saving for the future," she said.

"The government must make closing the pensions gender gap a major priority."

Liz Lewis, the T&G's Regional Women's Officer for Wales, said these figures would comes as no surprise to many older women in Wales.

"It is scandalous that after a lifetime of hard work and caring for families, many older women have to live on a pittance, when they should be enjoying a dignified and well-earned retirement," she said.