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Same job – Less pension? This is what the gender pension gap looks like!

It is still a long way to equal rights: 26 percent – that's the expected average pension gap for women compared to men in Germany.

Together with Professor Christoph Schneider of Tilburg University, I carried out the study „The Gender Pension Gap in Germany“ on behalf of Fidelity International. For this study, the statutory pension entitlements of over 1.8 million employees were calculated. This enabled us to carry out the most comprehensive analysis to date of the different statutory pension entitlements of women and men in Germany.

With meaningful results:

The pension gap opens from the age of 35!

Depending on their age, women are affected to varying degrees by the gender pension gap: Up to the age of 35, there is hardly any difference between the expected pension entitlements of women and men. The gender-specific pension gap for 26 to 35 year olds is almost 0 percent. But from about 35 years of age the gap opens. According to this, men earn significantly more pension points than women and consequently expect higher pension payments later. For women aged 36 to 45, the gender-specific pension gap is 15 percent, and for those aged 46 to 55 it is as high as 27 percent.

The most likely reason for this development is that many couples start a family in their thirties. As women are more likely than men to reduce their working hours after the birth of a child, the gender pay gap begins to develop precisely in this age group – with drastic consequences for women's finances and their later retirement.

The good news: the „Gender Pension Gap“ can be closed with additional private provision.

Our study calculates for the first time which additional savings are necessary to close the gap. For example, a 40-year-old woman would have to save an additional 77 euros with an expected return of 3 percent and an annual inflation rate of 1.5 percent if she retired at the age of 67 and still received a pension for 15 years. With an expected return of 5 percent, the monthly pension amount is reduced to 57 euros.

 You can find the study in the list of my working papers: https://www.bwl.uni-mannheim.de/niessen-ruenzi/forschung/

 Press Release (german): https://www.uni-mannheim.de/news/gleicher-job-weniger-rente-frauen-erhalten-26-prozent-weniger-gesetzliche-rente-als-maenner/



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