Three quarters (75%) of UK adults don’t know how much is in their pension pot, rising to a “worrying” 79% among 55 to 64-year-olds, research from Standard Life has revealed.

The analysis also highlighted a gender disparity in terms of pension awareness, as 81% of women were unable to put a figure on their pension pot, compared to 68% of men.

In addition to this, the research found that while all respondents tended to have some awareness of how much income they would need in retirement, women expected to need “considerably less” per year in retirement than men, at £22,428 compared to £32,617 for men.

Gender was not the only key factor, however, as the survey showed that when it comes to how much people want to save by retirement age, income also makes a big difference.

For instance, those surveyed with a personal income of less than £30,000 wanted to save £139,428, compared to £309,755 for those earning between £40,000 and £49,999.

Expectations for higher earners also marked a “massive increase” compared to lower earners, as those earning above £50,000 wanted to save £821,880, over £682,000 more than the lowest earners.

Commenting on the findings, Standard Life managing director for customer, Dean Butler, said: “Given the increased responsibility individuals now hold for their own pension savings, it’s worrying that the majority can’t estimate how much they’ve got in their pot – particularly those who are approaching or even in retirement now.

“Interestingly, younger generations are more likely to know how much they’ve saved so far. This may be because they are at the start of their working lives and are a bit more conscious of what comes in and out each month, and they are likely to have less pots to keep track of.

“Despite its huge success, auto-enrolment along with the fact UK workers tend to change jobs more regularly now has meant many workers further into their careers have multiple small pots – younger workers, in most cases, won’t have this issue.

“They might also be more used to a world in which long-term saving is entirely down to them – unlike older workers, it’s all they’ve ever known.”

Standard Life also previously argued that the pensions system should be made more inclusive to ensure savers can make the most of the financial benefits offered, after joint research with the OECD revealed different savings attitudes between socio-economic groups.


This article first appeared on our sister title, Pensions Age.

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