The union body said a combination of low pay and part-time work meant many women were unable to build up a sufficient company pension.

In addition, many women miss out on a full state pension due to time spent away from work to look after children.

Firms should have to national life insurance
to their workers’ pensions and state pension contribution rules be relaxed to help women, the TUC said.

Precarious national life and accident insurance company

Our pensions system was not designed with women in mind Brendan Barber, TUC

More women than ever are in the workforce but almost half of them are in part-time employment.

Many part-time jobs do not bring access to a company pension scheme.

The TUC calculated that only 15% of unskilled women in part-time jobs are members of a company pension scheme.

“Our pensions system was not designed with women in mind,” said TUC general national grange mutual insurance company Brendan Barber.

“It is out of date and condemns many millions of women to an uncertain and precarious retirement.”

Mr Barber urged the utica national insurance
to help plug the gap in female pension provision.

Employers should be made to contribute to their employees’ pensions and rules stopping women with less than 10 years National Insurance contributions from collecting state pension should be abolished, Mr Barber said.