New data from Prudential reveals that men retiring this year will bring with them a pension income almost two-thirds larger than their female colleague retiring at the same time.
The average pension income for a man taking his pension in 2010 will be £19,593 per year.
The average pension income for a woman giving up work this year will be just £12,169 per year, Prudential said.
The pension gap between men and women is also widening. A woman retiring this year will have a pension income that is, on average, 11% lower than her female colleague who retired last year.
For the man, his pension income will be just 3.5% lower than his colleague who retired in 2009.
Prudential point out that the trend has repercussions relating to the retirement plans of employees as well. Nearly a third of people over 55 claim they are putting their retirement planning on hold, due to the bad fortunes that have afflicted their investments during the economic downturn.
