More than half of people don’t know how much their employer contributes to their pension

To mark Financial Capacity Week, Just Retirement reveals that 58% of people have no idea how much their employer contributes to their pension and 43% would battle to identify how much they contribute themselves.

New research of more than 3000 people over the age of 21 suggests that while workers value pension savings, they are not fully aware of the type of benefits they are accruing. Not only were people unsure of how much was being contributed, but 35% had no idea with which company or provider their workplace pension was.

While you might imagine that people were more aware of the provision that they had made themselves, 30% would not be able to identify how many private pension pots they had – without reviewing the relevant paperwork – and 19% were unsure whether their partner had savings or not.

Stephen Lowe, Group Communications Director at specialist financial services group Just Retirement commented: “Employers contribute millions of pounds each month to employees’ pension schemes, but this research suggests that while people are aware of this benefit they don’t fully understand just how valuable it is. As we mark Financial Capacity Week, it is clear that in order for people to be in a position to ‘manage their money well’, they need to fully understand what, how and where they are saving for retirement.

“With a significant proportion of people disengaged with at least some aspects of their retirement saving, it is vital that when they do reach retirement they make use of the impartial and free-to-use Pension Wise service. Making potentially life-altering decisions without receiving guidance exposes people to risks and decisions that may be irreversible. Those people using Pension Wise have said they received outstanding service.”