UK - The Equal Opportunities Commission says government's latest proposed changes to the pensions system “still offer nothing for women”.

This was despite women’s average retirement income being only 57% of men's average retirement income, said the group’s chairwoman Julie Mellor.

According to the EOC, retired women only get 92 pounds a week, a little more than half of their male counterparts’ income. Fewer than 12% of women pensioners currently qualify for the full basic state pension based on their own contribution record, compared to 91% of men.

The existing gap makes women workers dependent on their spouse’s pension to the extent that those who outlive their partner could find themselves in “particularly dire straits” the EOC said. It called for the Pension Bill, released last week, to be amended to increase protection for women in this situation.

Mellor said: "Any changes to the pensions system must take into account the fact that many women struggle to get by on a tiny income during their retirement. It's indefensible for women to be penalised because of the time they spend looking after children.

“Simple changes”, such as giving all citizens the basic state pension to the state system, Mellor also said, could allow women to build up enough contributions for a more adequate retirement income.

The EOC also said it was going to call for an amendment to the Pensions Bill that would require a spouse to sign a waiver to their rights to survivor benefits when the other spouse purchased a single life annuity with the savings from their pension scheme.

This measure would ensure that both partners were aware of the consequences of that decision, and no woman who becomes a widow would “unwittingly be left without income from their husband's pensions”.

“The EOC is concerned that many may not realise that they could leave their partner with no pension income,” Mellor said.