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Specifically, the so-called “gender pension gap” is around CHF 20,000 per year, according to a Swiss Life study published Thursday. This means that women have about a third less money at their disposal than men. On average, women aged 65 to 75 receive a pension of CHF 37,600 – this is CHF 3,133 per month. For men of the same age, it is CHF 58,200.
The trend is also less gratifying: the gender gap in pensions for 65- to 75-year-olds over the period 2019 to 2021 is roughly the same as that calculated in 2012.
The difference is greatest among married people
The difference in pensions is greatest for married couples. Wives, on average, receive half as much pension as their husbands, according to the study. But since married people often pool their money, this fact does not have a big impact on the standard of living.
“Economically relevant is the Gender Retirement Gap, especially for unmarried and single people,” he says. According to the data, unmarried and single women had 10 to 20 percent less old-age income in this category than men. The pension gap is highest for widows, followed by divorced women.
Here are the reasons for the difference
Unmarried women receive the same amount of pension as unmarried men. As study author Andreas Christen explained at a virtual media conference, female retirees aged 64 to 75 who never married and retired in 2015 or 2019 are slightly better off financially than their male counterparts.
According to Christen, this is an indication that the gender-specific division of gainful employment and family work is primarily responsible for the differences in old-age provisions. The women who retired at the time of the study were born in the 1950s and thus at a time when single women were traditionally childless. Therefore, it can be assumed that these women have more of a “traditional male career” behind them – that is, without caring responsibilities or part-time work.
The authors write because the “gender pension gap” is primarily due to different gender-specific employment histories. This includes, among other things, the earned income, which consists of the duration of the working activity, the workload and the wages. However, institutional framework conditions also affected the gender gap in pensions.
Why should the trench shrink?
But employment biographies of men and women are getting closer and closer: women who were about to retire in 2000 worked an average of 50 percent less than men, according to the study. 20 years later the difference was only 30 percent. According to the authors, this indicates that the gap in pensions will narrow in the future.
Although many older women have less money at their disposal than men, on average they are almost as satisfied with their finances as men. According to the research, 72 percent of retirees state that they are satisfied with the money offered to them.
“One possible explanation may be that women of retirement age can live on a smaller budget than men,” the study says. According to one survey, they need 12 percent less money to make a living.
Pensioners spend their money on this
Retired women spend more on food, health, clothing and personal hygiene, while men need more money for cars, meals, hotels, alcohol and tobacco.
With a gender pension gap of one-third, Switzerland is not doing well when compared to other countries. “The gender-specific difference in pensions is 25 percent on average in the EU,” says Christen.
On the one hand, female labor market participation in Switzerland is lower than in other countries. On average, Swiss women work around 40 percent less than men, while in countries like Denmark or Norway, where the gender gap in pensions is significantly less than in Germany, they work only 20 percent less.
Moreover, the gender pension gap has narrowed more rapidly in recent years in many European countries. This is especially true for the neighboring countries of Germany, France and Austria. (SDA/smt)
Source :Blick
I’m Tim David and I work as an author for 24 Instant News, covering the Market section. With a Bachelor’s Degree in Journalism, my mission is to provide accurate, timely and insightful news coverage that helps our readers stay informed about the latest trends in the market. My writing style is focused on making complex economic topics easy to understand for everyone.
