WOMEN are failing to make adequate provisions for their retirement, with 7.3 million instead relying on their husbands' pensions, research by Scottish Widows has showed.

Just 41 per cent of women earning more than £10,000 a year save into a pension, compared with 54 per cent of men.

The group said the gender pensions gap was worsening, with the proportion of men who were making adequate pension savings rising from 49 per cent last year to 54 per cent this year, while the number of women who were saving has remained static.

Scottish Widows said part of the problem was that women earned an average of 62 per cent of what men take home, meaning they had less money to save.

Yesterday, Cherie Blair spoke about the pay gap in a lecture organised by the BBC's Today programme and Chatham House - home of the Royal Institute of International Affairs.

She told the BBC: "Women and men are equal human beings and deserving of equal respect." But she said there was a "long way to go".

Mrs Blair, a Catholic, also said she could not claim British society was perfect because of the gender pay gap.

Of those workers paying into a defined contribution pension, men contribute an average of £128 a month, while women pay in just £84.

Employers are paying more into men's pensions than they are into women's, with typical employer contributions worth 6.5 per cent of men's annual salary, but just 5.7 per cent of women's.

Pensions reform minister Mike O'Brien added: "It's vital that women make their own retirement saving a priority so that they can enjoy the type of income and security they aspire to in later life. As this report acknowledges, government proposals for automatic enrolment into a workplace pension or a system of personal accounts will have a particularly beneficial effect for women.

"These changes add to reforms in the Pension Act 2007 increasing the number of women reaching state pension age entitled to a full basic state pension to three quarters by 2010, increasing to around 90 per cent by 2020 - compared to 35 per cent now."

Press officer for corporate communications at Bournemouth based LV, Katherine Hart said: "As a female it is worrying to hear that women are saving less for the future than men. It is even more important for women to start thinking about saving for their future because many may take a break in their career to start a family and this can affect contributions made to their pension funds - as well as potentially returning to work on reduced hours.

"Indeed, research carried out by LV last year revealed that over two thirds of parents have had to put savings and financial planning on hold due to the pressure of bringing up children.

"Retirement requires careful financial planning and regular saving, and women should not put off thinking about saving for their future."