The report found that 59% of women are now saving enough for a comfortable retirement, compared to 60% of men.

However, the pensions firm added that the persistent gender pay gap and part time working ratio means women saving adequately on the median wage are still saving £1,300 a year less than men.

The figures mean that for a woman to save the same amount into her pension as a man, she would need to work an extra 37 years.

Jackie Leiper, managing director, workplace savings at Scottish Widows, said: “While we’re heartened at the record levels of savings, there’s still a mountain to climb before we reach true gender pension parity.”

“Women face decades of extra working to match that of a man’s, which is unfair and unacceptable. Until we can resolve structural inequalities, from the gender pay gap to the uneven division of labour at home, we will never have pension equality.”

According to the report, young women are among those struggling to save for retirement. It found that 46% of those in their 20s are saying the recommended minimum 12% of salary. This compares to 54% of men in the same age category and to almost two-third (64%) of women in their 50s.

However, not saving more while young means women miss out on the benefits of compound interest, which can help savings increase significantly over their working lives.

The report also highlighted a number of ongoing challenged facing savers. Automatic pensions enrolment has been a significant driver in getting more women savings in the long term, but there are still a number of structural challenges preventing a truly level playing field.

Women are still paid less than men, which significantly affects their ability to save for retirement. Of those in full time jobs, men earn on average £6,100 more a year, a figure which increases to £10,800 for all employment types.

Scottish Widows also spoke to a group of women about how COVID-19 is affecting their working life and pensions prospects.

Beth, 40, a part‐time carer who is on a zero‐hours contract and has three children, said: “I think we have not saved enough and we might struggle, especially for me, being a woman who hasn’t set aside for pensions. I’m very much reliant on my husband’s (NHS) pension and I’m not sure when he’s going to get that or if his working age is going up or if my working age will go up.”

Ms Leiper added:” In a matter of months, the pandemic is reversing years of progress. We’re calling for urgent pension reform that will help more women save more for retirement including improved childcare provisions, enhanced pensions for those on maternity leave, the inclusion of pensions in divorce proceedings, and the scrapping of auto-enrolment minimum earnings threshold.”