Despite more than 10 million UK employees being enrolled in to a workplace pension scheme, a tenth of workers have “no idea” if they have a pension from a previous job.
This is according to Portafina, the pension advice specialist, who found that 10 per cent of employees do not know if they have a pension from a previous job.
Only a quarter, (25 per cent) of the workforce know that when moving jobs, their new employer will set up a new pension and that it is their responsibility to manage their old pension pots.
More than three-quarters (76 per cent) do not know the value of their past pensions today, as well as 71 per cent of those in Defined Contributions (DC) pensions not knowing what charges they are paying.
A huge 90 per cent admitted to not seeking advice when it comes to moving or consolidating pensions, as there seems to be a “growing trend” to use the digital platforms to move or consolidating pension pots.
Jamie Smith-Thompson, managing director at Portafina, said:
Moving into the digital world is a big positive step forward for the pension industry. Initiatives like the Pensions Dashboard currently being developed by the Government will go a huge way towards helping the nation to better manage and keep on top of their pension savings.
While it’s great that there are more online options emerging for moving or consolidating pensions, it can come with huge risk. If it feels too easy to move your pension, such as only taking a couple of clicks to complete the process, then it’s time to think twice about whether this is the right move for your hard-earned savings.
How your pension will be invested, the fees charged, and how your new scheme compares to the old one, are all questions you should confidently know the answers to before making any decisions to jump ship from your current provider.
Portafina surveyed 2,000 UK employees aged 25-89 to obtain these results.
Darius is the editor of HRreview. He has previously worked as a finance reporter for the Daily Express. He studied his journalism masters at Press Association Training and graduated from the University of York with a degree in History.
