Equal Pay, Unequal Pensions: The Hidden Gender Pension Gap in the Public Sector

Author: Eimear Conroy, Senior Relationships Manager, Cornmarket 5-minute read

The public sector is often seen as a leader on pay equality

Salary scales are transparent and standardised, so men and women are paid the same for the same job. However, equal pay does not guarantee equal pensions.

Because women are more likely to work part‑time or take career breaks, they face a growing gender pension gap – even in a system with pay parity. Women make up 76.3% of employees in the Human Health & Social Work sector and 73.1% of the Education sector in 2024.* These are heavily female workforces, where non‑linear careers are common.

Women are statistically more likely to take:

• Maternity leave
• Unpaid parental leave
• Career breaks for childcare or elder care
• Periods of reduced hours or part‑time work

In Q4 2025, women accounted for 41.7% (937,700) of people in full‑time employment, but 67.1% (391,200) of those in part‑time employment in the Irish labour market. Almost a third of those in part‑time work (29.7%) cited looking after children or incapacitated adults as the main reason.*

These patterns are exactly what reduce pension build‑up over time.

Why the gender pension gap is likely to widen in the public sector

Despite equal pay, there are strong reasons to expect a rising gender pension gap in the public sector. The main driver is the shift from pre‑2013 public service pension schemes to the post‑2013 Single Public Service Pension Scheme (more commonly referred to simply as “the Single Scheme”).

Broadly we have:

• Pre‑2013 entrants: shrinking group, mostly in final salary schemes
• Post‑2013 entrants: growing group in the Single Scheme

The way these schemes calculate pension benefits interacts very differently with women’s working patterns.

1. Final salary vs career average

Pre‑2013 schemes: final salary

• Your pension is based on your final or near‑final salary, multiplied by your years of service.
• Earlier years on lower pay mattered less, provided you finished on a higher salary and had enough service.

Post‑2013 Single Scheme: career average

• Each year, a percentage of your pensionable pay is credited and then increased annually in line with CPI plus a fixed factor
• All years count in the formula, so low‑paid, part‑time or zero‑pay years permanently reduce your overall career average
• Years of very low pay (for example, part‑time work after maternity leave) only generate small pension credits
• There is no “last salary uplift” to wash out earlier lean years.

Result: the Single Scheme penalises broken and part‑time careers more – and these are more typical for women.

2. Higher retirement age, harder catch‑up

For Single Scheme members, the normal retirement age is aligned with the State Pension age, currently 66

In theory, a longer working life could mean more time to build up benefits. In practice:

• Women often enter later, take more breaks, and have more caring duties
• It can be difficult to accumulate sufficient pension over a stretched career if you are not continuously full‑time
• Those who leave or reduce hours before 66 may face reduced benefits.

A higher retirement age therefore does not automatically help women close pension gaps; it can actually expose them more starkly.

3. Late promotions help less than before

Under final salary schemes:

• A late promotion towards the end of a person’s career could significantly boost their pension, as it was based on final or near‑final pay.

Under the Single Scheme:

• The pension is based on a career average of earnings
• Higher pay in later years is diluted by earlier, lower‑paid and part‑time years.

Women, who often progress later due to career breaks or reduced hours, see less pension benefit from late promotions than they would have under a final salary design.

4. Gender‑neutral design, gendered outcomes

On paper, the Single Scheme is gender‑neutral. The rules are the same for men and women.

·       In practice, the design works best for: Continuous, full‑time, steadily progressing careers – still more common for men in the public service.

·       It works less well for: Discontinuous careers with breaks, unpaid leave and part‑time work – more common for women.

·       Broken service and reduced hours mean:

• Lower average earnings
• Fewer pension credits
• A weaker compounding effect over time

So, whilst there is no explicit gender bias in the rules, the interaction between the scheme and real‑world working patterns creates indirect gendered outcomes.

How a typical career break is treated

Pre‑2013 final salary scheme

Imagine a woman who:

• Works 15 years full‑time
• Takes a 5‑year break for children
• Then works another 20 years full‑time and retires on a high salary

Her reckonable service might be 35 years (excluding the 5‑year break). Her pension is calculated on her final salary at retirement.

The 5‑year break mainly reduces the years of service. It does not drag down the salary on which the pension is based.

Post‑2013 Single Scheme

Under the Single Scheme:

• Each year of pensionable pay generates a credit
• Years of low or no pay generate low or no credits
• There is no final salary calculation to offset those missing or low‑earning years.

A 5‑year career break:

• Under a pre‑2013 final salary scheme: You lose 5 years’ service, but your pension is still on your final salary at retirement
• Under the Single Scheme: You lose 5 full years of contributions and their CPI‑linked growth The missing years cannot be compensated to the same extent by a higher salary later.

Multiple smaller breaks (for several children or for caring for parents) have a compounding effect in a career‑average scheme, as you repeatedly interrupt contributions and reduce average earnings.

The hidden gender pension gap in the public sector

As more staff fall under the Single Scheme, more public sector pensions will be determined by a design that is less forgiving of breaks and part‑time work.

• Discontinuous careers are more common for women
• Discontinuous careers are more heavily penalised in a career‑average scheme.

Even where pay during employment is equal, retirement outcomes are not. This creates a hidden gender pension gap for women in the public sector.

What can women in the public sector do?

If you are a woman working in the public service, particularly under the Single Scheme, it is important to:

1. Understand your scheme

• Confirm whether you are in a pre‑2013 scheme, the Single Scheme, or have benefits in both
• Check how career breaks, unpaid leave and part‑time work are treated.

2. Review your service and projections

• Obtain a pension statement and projected entitlements
• Note any gaps in service or long periods of reduced hours.

3. Plan around breaks and reduced hours

Before taking unpaid leave or moving to part‑time, consider:

• How it will affect your pension accrual
• Whether there are options to buy back service or pay additional contributions later.

4. Consider additional savings

• Look at Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) or other retirement savings to help fill potential gaps
• Seek independent financial advice if you are unsure about the impact on your long‑term income.

5. Raise awareness

• Discuss these issues with HR, unions and colleagues
• Encourage better information and support around the pension impact of working patterns.

In Summary

The public sector has made real progress on equal pay. The next challenge is to ensure that pension outcomes do not quietly undermine that progress. Recognising the hidden gender pension gap is the first step towards closing it.

*Source: CSO statistical release, 6th March 2026.