Men’s pension savings exceed women’s by 25 percent

Salary inequality and maternity leave can explain the difference

On average, men have over 120,000 kroner more than women in pensions savings, representing a 25 percent difference in their provision for retirement. This is one of the most striking figures from Danmarks Statistik’s summary of pension savings in 2014.

READ MORE: The Pension Jungle: Check your pension savings threshold

The average pension pot for men last year was 496,000 kroner, while women had on average saved just 376,000 kroner.

Less scope for saving
The national statistics office points to several factors to explain the difference. Firstly, the fact that women’s salaries are generally lower results in typically smaller contributions.

Additionally, women are more likely to lose a large part of their normal salary during maternity leave, which normally lasts longer than paternity leave. And more women than men are homemakers for part of their working life, which results in periods with less scope for saving.

While everyone in Denmark, providing they meet a set of general conditions relating to residence and citizenship, receives the state pension, not everyone saves for a private pension.

For both genders, the proportion of people with a pension plan in addition to the state pension provision is 77 percent.

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