Lost pension pots
As the ‘job for life’ is a thing of the past, The People’s Pension were curious to learn how much people are aware of their pension savings and how they keep track of their pensions as they move from job to job.
The research
On behalf of The People’s Pension, YouGov carried out an online survey with 2,297 UK adults in employment aged 18 to 66, between 16 and 20 February 2018.
Findings
The research reveals that, one in five people have lost track of a pension and that nearly half (47%) don’t know how much their retirement savings are worth. Three out of five adults don’t know where all the details are of their pension savings while two in five don’t know they pay charges on any of their pensions.
Outcome
This research highlights how the pension industry could be doing a better job at helping people understand how much all their retirement savings are worth. Educating people that they can move their pensions between pension providers is one way they can keep track of them, especially when 46% of people said they would be encouraged to do this if it meant it was easier to manage their pension savings in one place, but two out of five are unaware they can do this.
The findings also echo calls from cross-party MPs for a single dashboard to allow savers to view their pensions – state, defined contribution and defined benefit – in one place. Anything other than this would leave savers confused and only able to see part of their full pension picture.
ENDS