Women have a pension 43% lower than men, but the gap is halved with PGU and pension reform

Considering all pensioned individuals for old age in the country who are 65 years or older (1,237,764), women have an average self-financed pension amount that is 42.6% lower than that of men, since theirs reached $213,000 in March, and theirs was $372,000. But this gap is reduced by half if we consider the solidarity pensions provided by the system, as 83.5% of that universe receives the Universal Guaranteed Pension (PGU). Meanwhile, 81.2% receive benefits from the Social Security Pension. Additionally, 68.4% of that same total receive both benefits. Thus, the gap decreases to -27% when including the PGU, reaching an average of $407,000 for women and $558,000 for men. It then drops to -22.1% when including the benefits of the Social Security Pension created by the pension reform, reaching $491,000 for women and $631,000 for men. This is what the report "Gender Report on the Pension System and Unemployment Insurance" shows, which is conducted annually by the Superintendence of Pensions, with the aim of comparing the situation of men and women in the system, and which for the first time measures how the benefits of the pension reform that began operating in January 2026 influence this equation, when payments of the Social Security benefits, namely the Benefit for Contributed Years (BAC) and the Compensation for Life Expectancy Differences (CEV), started. In terms of median, the gap goes from -44.9% in the self-financed pension among all people aged 65 or older receiving old age pensions, to -28.5% when including the PGU, and to -22.9% when including the benefits of the Social Security Pension. The report states that "the PGU is the component that most contributes to reducing gender gaps, with a greater impact on the lower self-financed pensions, which are mostly received by women." Furthermore, among those who receive PGU and access the Social Security Pension, the benefits of the latter "also contribute to narrowing the gap, although their additional contribution is more limited than among those who only receive the benefits of the Social Security Pension," it emphasizes. Gaps "remain significant" The Superintendence of Pensions report indicates that "gender gaps in the pension system and unemployment insurance continue to be significant and reflect inequalities mainly originating in the labor market and persisting throughout active working life." In this context, the report shows that "women have lower taxable remunerations, lower contribution densities and years, and a higher life expectancy. These factors impact lower pension balances and significantly lower self-financed pensions than those of men." When looking at active affiliates in the individual capitalization system as of December 2025, women represented 46.9%. Additionally, they made up 44.2% of contributors. Likewise, the contribution density was higher in men (56.8%) than in women (48.9%), which implied a gap of -7.9 percentage points when analyzing the percentage of months contributed relative to months elapsed since a person joined. Furthermore, the average taxable remuneration of contributing women was $1,282,550 as of December 2025, while that of men reached $1,456,444, with a gap of -11.9%. The regulator's study shows that last year, 159,605 people received pensions. Of these, 54.3% were women. While women registered an average amount of the first self-financed pension of $104,891, for men it was $295,080, a gap of -64.5%. Looking at the median, the gap was -73%, with $40,920 for women and $151,761 for men. Solidarity pensions Regarding the benefits of the Social Security Pension that began to be paid this year, the report shows that in March 2026, 1,406,339 people were beneficiaries, of whom 56% were women and 44% men. Of the total female beneficiaries, 53.8% accessed the BAC and the CEV, while 41.2% accessed only the CEV, and the remaining 5% only the BAC. Regarding benefit amounts, women who received both the BAC and the CEV obtained an average amount of $109,689. For those beneficiaries who received only CEV or only BAC, these average amounts were $10,227 and $80,528, respectively. For men, the BAC averaged $98,019. Meanwhile, in March 2026, the PGU reached 2,265,811 people, of whom 57.9% were women. Of this total, 1,648,250 corresponded to contributory PGU (72.7%) and 617,561 (27.3%) to non-contributory PGU. Women represented 53% and 70.9%, respectively. NEWSLETTER Pulso PML Monday to Friday, 12:30 PM The most relevant in markets, companies, and business: timely information, context, and content to make better decisions. By subscribing, you accept the Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policies of La Tercera.