The Government Actuary's
Department has analysed the LGPS gender pension gap. This
report provides a first overview of how pensions in the LGPS were
impacted by gender as of 31 March 2020.
Pensions experts at the Government Actuary’s Department (GAD)
have analysed the gender pension gap within the Local Government
Pension Scheme (LGPS). This refers to the differences between the
pension benefits built up by men and women.
The LGPS Scheme Advisory Board (SAB) asked GAD to help it explore
the extent of differences in benefit outcomes. The SAB has
now published
GAD’s update report.
Reports details
The report provides an initial overview of how pension income and
total pension pot size in the LGPS vary by gender, based on data
as of 31 March 2020.
As shown in the table below, on average men receive higher
pensions than women. This difference is largest for pensions
currently in payment, but lower for individuals still accruing
benefits particularly benefits accrued since 2014 on a career
average basis.
This analysis is based on data collected to conduct an actuarial
valuation of the LGPS as at 31 March 2020 and to provide renewed
evidence for developing government policy on the scheme.
Table: Average LGPS pensions as at 31 March 2020, by
gender
|
|
Male average pension
|
Female average pension
|
Difference between male and female average pension
|
|
Actively contributing members: (post 2014) accrued career
average benefits
|
£2,536
|
£1,656
|
35%
|
|
Actively contributing members: (legacy) accrued final
salary benefits
|
£2,879
|
£1,542
|
46%
|
|
Pensions in payment
|
£8,466
|
£4,285
|
49%
|
Difference implications
These differences are likely to reflect a combination of
differences in:
- pay - Analysis
by the LGA in 2019 across local government employers
indicated there was a mean gender pay gap of 6.1% and a median
gender pay gap of 4.0% among certain local government staff.
The GAD pension analysis also includes wider groups of LGPS
members and employers, which may have different pay patterns
from those considered by the LGA analysis.
- working patterns – such as the balance between men and women
working part time and taking career breaks.
- other factors – such as rates of individuals opting out of
LGPS membership
GAD and the SAB are now doing further work to investigate and
understand the pension differences described by the initial GAD
report.
