The upcoming pension auto-enrolment scheme will not address the structural inequalities faced by women in the pension system and may even make them worse, according to a new report.
'Still stuck in the Gap - Pensions Auto-enrolment from a Gender and Care lens' has been released by the National Women's Council (NWC).
Pension auto-enrolment is due to start in September 2025 and aims to expand occupational pension coverage.
The report finds that while the scheme is likely to increase occupational pension coverage for those in employment, it is not likely to have an impact in tackling the gender pension gap, currently at around 35%, and may even exacerbate it.
According to the research, the focus of the auto-enrolment scheme is on paid employment, leaving out support for unpaid care and other forms of social participation.
While men tend to contribute more to their occupational pensions, women are more likely to take time out of paid employment to take on unpaid care work.
Women are also more likely to be in low pay, part time employment and therefore tend to contribute less to occupational pensions.
The NWC said that the new scheme will do nothing to improve the pensions of many low-paid, part time earners and those not in paid employment, and will potentially lead to an increase in the already significant gender pension gap.
It is calling on the next government to focus pension reform on improving the structural inequalities in the pension system, by increasing both the coverage and the level of the State pension with a view to developing a universal pension that is adequate for all.
"As one of the biggest reforms of our pension system in decades, the new pension auto-enrolment scheme fails to address the deep inequalities in our pension system," said Orla O’Connor, Director of the National Women’s Council.
"By tying pension entitlement even closer to paid employment, auto-enrolment leaves out the importance of unpaid care yet again which impacts women much more than men," Ms O'Connor added.
The report was prepared by Oisín Gilmore, Senior Economist at TASC, and was funded by the Irish Human Rights and Equality Commission’s grant scheme.
