Stepping back from work to provide childcare full-time can cause a pension savings shortfall of £183,000.
Research by Royal London looked at the financial impact of parenthood and found women are "far more likely" to stop or reduce their working hours to care for their children than men.
Data from the ONS showed the arrangement for about half of UK families is for the father to work full-time while the mother works part-time until the youngest child turns 11.
However, Royal London found even working part-time can mean missing out on £92,000 in pension savings.
Clare Moffatt, pensions expert at Royal London, said: “Data tells us that the majority of responsibility for raising children is carried out by women, and adversely impacts their income.
"Not only does the interruption to their employment pattern impact their financial security and independence in the short term, it also affects them in later life by creating a huge gap in their retirement savings.
“Reducing hours or stopping work altogether to care for children means pension saving takes a hit and it might also mean that they don’t have the 35 years of national insurance contributions or credits needed for the full state pension.”
More women taking a step back from work compared to men has also impacted the labour force participation gap, with 1.65mn less women in employment in the UK than men.
Last year (October 2023) research by Phoenix Insights found women were more likely to access their retirement funds earlier than men despite having savings half the size.
It concluded that the life stages women go through such as motherhood and the menopause disproportionately affects their saving capabilities.
alina.khan@ft.com
