18 May 2026
This research, which will feed into the evidence base for the Pensions Commission, reinforces that pension outcomes are still overwhelmingly shaped by the stability of people’s working lives rather than by engagement with saving. Over a 15‑year period, only 49% of those born between 1974 and 1988 were in full‑time work more than 75% of the time. At the same time, around 11% were mostly out of paid work, 10% were mainly in part‑time roles and 7% were predominantly self‑employed, all patterns that make it far harder to build consistent private pension contributions over time.
The disparities are particularly stark for women. In the same cohort, just 33% of women spent more than three‑quarters of the period in full‑time employment, compared with 67% of men. Women were far more likely to be mostly part‑time or mostly out of paid work, reflecting caring responsibilities and career interruptions that continue to translate directly into lower private pension accumulation across the life course. Until this structural inequality is addressed then pension inequality will always follow.
One of the most revealing findings is that life events themselves are not the main driver of pension behaviour. For people who remain private‑sector employees, events such as having children or relationship changes have limited direct impact on whether they save or how much they contribute. The real divergence opens up when those events change hours, earnings or whether someone is in paid work at all. This is particularly evident after the birth of a first child, where pension saving paths for men and women begin to separate almost entirely because of changes in working patterns rather than different contribution choices.
Household retirement incomes can also appear significantly stronger once a partner’s resources are included, but that can mask substantial individual vulnerability if relationships end through divorce or bereavement. For many people, the state pension is therefore not acting as it should as a top-up to private saving but the foundation of financial security in later life, with means-tested support such as Pension Credit, housing benefit and council tax reduction increasingly having to pick up the slack for those with limited private provision.
This raises longer-term questions about the sustainability of relying so heavily on the triple lock, particularly as the population ages and life expectancy increases. While the policy has provided important protection for pensioners’ incomes, maintaining it indefinitely is likely to become increasingly expensive for future governments.
