The gender pension gap in Ireland

The gender pension gap is the difference between the pension income of retired men and women. Pensions reflect a whole working life, so lower pay, part-time work and time out for caring can all follow women into retirement.

Key facts

  • About 35%: the gap in average weekly pension income, at €280 for women and €433 for men. This ESRI estimate was published in 2019 but uses data from 2010, and it is still the figure commonly quoted. Newer Irish data on the gap would be valuable (ESRI).
  • 55% and 28%: the shares of retired men and women with a private or occupational pension in the same data (ESRI).
  • 93% and 33%: the shares of retired men and women who had worked for more than 30 years (ESRI).
  • No gap in the State pension amount: the ESRI found men and women who receive a State pension get the same amount. The ESRI links the gap to private and occupational pensions and to women’s shorter working histories, not the State pension rate (ESRI).

Will auto-enrolment help?

Ireland’s new auto-enrolment scheme, My Future Fund, is designed to bring more workers into pension saving. It is aimed at employees aged 23 to 60 who earn at least €20,000 and do not already have a workplace pension. That could help women who have had no pension through work.

It does not reach everyone automatically, though. People earning below the threshold have to opt in, and unpaid care earns nothing towards it. A 2024 report by TASC for the National Women’s Council examines auto-enrolment through this lens and warns that tying pensions more closely to employment and earnings could make gender inequalities in retirement worse.

Where to find out more

Figures checked October 2026. Each figure gives its year, and newer data may since have been published.