Women need to start putting more into private pension schemes or risk relying on the state in retirement, according to the minister for pension reform.

The latest government figures reveal that just 38 per cent of women contribute to a private pension compared with 46 per cent of men.

Furthermore, men are saving on average £200 or more each month whereas women are more likely to contribute less than £100 per month.

Minister for pension reform James Purnell said that the government is trying to help the situation by offering a new contributory principle which recognises how women stop saving for retirement when they have children, but women need to change their habits as well.

"We will make it easier for people to save by introducing a new system of personal accounts," said Mr Purnell.

"The worrying reality is that if women don't make their own saving a priority, they could find themselves worse off in retirement than they expect."

Women need to start saving more to enter retirement with the level of financial independence they currently enjoy, according to minister for women, Meg Munn.

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