Have you ever checked your pension?
15 October 2025It might sound at first like a silly question – of course everyone keeps an eye on their retirement savings, right? Wrong, in fact, according to recent research from Standard Life, which indicates that one in seven adults have never checked their pension, despite reviewing other financial arrangements more often.
Breaking this down, the research reveals that 17% - nearly a fifth – of those aged over 55 have never looked at their pension arrangements. This compares to 12% of those aged 18-34 and 8% of 35–54-year-olds.
In contrast, around 35% of adults review their cash savings at least every seven days, and around 18% check on their investment accounts on a weekly basis. It’s not necessary to check on a pension every day, or even every week or month, particularly in the early years, as pensions are intended to be long-term arrangements. However, it’s sensible to review your pension savings at least once a year and make changes if needed. Some points to consider might be as follows (examples only and not an exhaustive list):
- Value: how much are your pension savings worth and how does any projected value tie in with your expectations / needs for income in retirement? You should receive a yearly statement from your pension provider(s) – have a read, rather than just filing it
- Contributions: would it be sensible to contribute more, if affordable, and within annual limits? If it’s a workplace pension plan to which your employer is also contributing, will they up their contributions if you increase yours
- Investment funds: is the value of the plan invested in line with your attitude to investment risk? Do you have any ethical / environmental / social / governance views on investment and, if so, what investment funds or strategies are offered by your pension provider to take account of these views?
- Nomination of death benefits: have you told your pension provider(s) who you would like to receive the death benefits of your pension plans on your death? And if you have, are the nominations still up to date?
- Personal details: do your pension providers have the correct contact details for you? Have you moved and need to update your address?
- Lost pensions: if you think you’ve lost track of a pension, try the government’s Pension Tracing Service here: https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details
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On a positive note, the research from Standard Life indicates that among those who did review their pension savings over the last year, 20% checked their forecasted retirement balance. 14% increased their contributions, 11% made changes to investment risk levels and 10% made a one-off payment into their pension.
If you would like to review your pension planning to check whether you’re on track for the retirement you would like, please do contact the team at Chapters Financial.
No individual advice is provided during the course of this blog.
Keith Churchouse FPFS
Director
CFP Chartered FCSI
Chartered Financial Planner
Chapters Financial Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority, number 402899
