Women in the UK are setting their sights “significantly lower” than men when it comes to how much money they need to live comfortably in retirement.

That was the conclusion from research by Retirement Advantage, which stated that the disparity was a consequence of the gender pay gap that persists in people’s working lives.

When asked to estimate, men over 50 years old felt they needed £1,593 per month to live comfortably in contrast to women of the same age who thought £1,340 would be enough.

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This equated to a difference of over £250 each month – more than 15 per cent. In April this year the ONS found that the current gender pay gap meant men were paid on average 9.4% more than women in the UK.

Andrew Tully, pensions technical director at Retirement Advantage, said: “Gender income inequality persists in our society. Women have markedly lower expectations than their male counterparts when it comes to retirement income.

“This view is almost certainly shaped by generation upon generation of gender pay inequality.”

Retirement Advantage’s research also revealed that men save more into their pensions each month.

Women over 50 said that on average they were contributing £131 each month compared to £180 for men.

How people plan to get advice on their retirement finances also has a bearing on how much they save into their pension, the report said.

People planning to use a financial adviser were contributing £225 per month, around £70 per month more than those who were thinking of consulting Pension Wise, or chatting to friends or family.

Mr Tully said: “The gap between men and women’s pay has a dramatic effect on contributions to pensions. Although the pay gap is around 10 per cent, the difference in savings is much greater. This is most likely due to lower disposable incomes hampering women’s ability to save.

“I think it’s telling that the people planning to use an adviser when they retire are also the ones who are saving more for their retirement. They’ve likely received advice and are aware of what they need to save in order to retire in comfort.”