Fortysomething women ‘drove surge in female pension contributions in January’

Women paid more into their pensions than men in January 2026, according to data from retirement firm PensionBee, for only the second time in its history, with females aged in their 40s driving the increase.

Female customers contributed 104% of the amount men contributed, despite accounting for only 42% of total clients.

Back in 2024, women contributed less than half (48%) of the total contributed by men, and this rose to 58% in 2025.

PensionBee said it is the first time it has seen women’s pension contributions surpassing those from men since 2018.

Women aged 40 to 49 contributed 185% of the equivalent contributions made by men in January, driving much of the overall increase.

The surge in pension contributions coincided with HM Revenue and Customs’ January self-assessment tax deadline.

PensionBee suggested that self-employed and freelance women in their 40s are making significant last-minute lump sum contributions to bolster their pension savings and make the most of pensions tax relief.

Maike Currie, VP personal finance at PensionBee, said: “Seeing women out-contribute men – for the crucial self-assessment month of January – is very encouraging, showing more women in their 40s are in self-employment and/or are higher rate tax payers and conscious of the importance of making pension contributions.”

She added: “However, across other age groups, the picture is still very uneven, despite improvements on previous years. Women aged 18 to 29 contributed 7% less than men, while those aged 60 to 69 contributed 26% less, a gap that reflects a lifetime of compounding disadvantage rather than disengagement.”

The last time PensionBee female clients contributed more than their male counterparts was in April 2018, before the coronavirus pandemic.

Ms Currie added: “There is clearly growing engagement and a determination from women in their mid-40s in particular to bolster their retirement savings.

“However, closing the gender pension gap will require systemic reform. Women remain over-represented among the UK’s ‘invisible workers’ – falling outside the net of auto-enrolment, which has very much been designed around formal employment structures and the payroll.”

PensionBee was founded in 2014 and has over £6 billion in assets on behalf of 275,000 customers.