International Women’s Day 2026 – Shining a Light on Ireland’s Gender Pension Gap
Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland (Aviva)’s latest research shows a 31% national gender pension gap – meaning many of your female clients have almost a third less in pension savings than men1. Much of this gap is driven not by ability, but by access to information and confidence.
Over half (55%) don’t know what their pension is worth, 58% don’t know what it’s invested in, and 65% don’t know the tax benefits available to them, the fundamentals that shape long‑term outcomes 2.
1. Aviva’s modelling of the gender pensions gap is based on an analysis of data from members aged 50+ in the Aviva Life & Pensions Ireland Occupational Pension Scheme. Member’s average salaries, retirement projections and savings pots were calculated for each gender to determine the gender pensions gap figure.
The 31% gap reflects differences in average pension savings between men and women, driven by:
Variations in lifetime earnings
Differences in typical contribution levels
Later average pension start ages for women
Career breaks and part time work reducing total contributions
Lost compound growth from missing earlier years of saving
2. Source: RedC Research & Aviva research, February 2026. Sample size pre retired: 255. Methodology: Nationally representative online quantitative survey conducted by RedC Research on behalf of Aviva. Weighting applied to ensure representativeness across age, gender, region, and home ownership. All findings referenced in this article are drawn from this dataset. Purpose: To understand the retirement readiness, financial confidence, product awareness, household financial decision making and attitudes toward pensions among adults aged 50+ in Ireland.
Revenue rules and terms and conditions apply. Remember that tax laws can change over time, so it is important to check revenue.ie for the latest information.
Warning: Past performance is not a reliable guide to future performance.
Warning: The value of your investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: If you invest in this product you may lose some or all of the money you invest.
Warning: The income you get from this investment may go down as well as up.
Warning: These funds may be affected by changes in currency exchange rates.