Changed jobs a few times? Your retirement money may be scattered across pensions you barely remember — and some simple changes now could make a surprisingly large difference later.
By the time you reach your 50s, there’s a good chance you’ve collected several workplace pensions.
One from the job you had in your 30s. Another from the company you stayed at for four years. Perhaps a small pension from an employer whose name has since changed.
They’re still your money. But there’s a problem.
Most of us spend far more time choosing a broadband deal than checking what £100,000 of pension savings is actually doing.
And in your highest-earning years, that can become expensive.
First, find out what you actually have
Before trying to improve your pension, build a complete picture.
Dig out old statements and list every pension you have, including the provider, current value, charges and how the money is invested.
If you’ve lost track of one, the government’s Pension Tracing Service can help you find the contact details for old workplace and personal pension schemes.
You might discover £5,000 somewhere.
You might discover £50,000.
Either way, it’s worth knowing.
Should you combine your old pensions?
Having five pensions isn’t necessarily bad. But it can make them difficult to manage.
Combining defined contribution pensions into one pot can potentially give you lower charges, simpler administration and better investment options.
But don’t automatically transfer everything.
Older pensions can contain valuable benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates, bonuses or protected retirement ages. Defined benefit — or “final salary” — pensions require particular care because transferring can mean giving up guaranteed lifetime income.
The objective isn’t necessarily one pension.
It’s knowing what each pension does and whether you have a good reason for keeping it.
Check what you’re paying in fees
A fee of 0.5% versus 1% doesn’t sound dramatic.
But applied every year to a substantial pension for another 10, 15 or 20 years, the difference compounds.
Look for annual management charges, fund charges and any platform or administration fees.
Charges aren’t automatically bad — a more expensive investment may offer something worthwhile — but you should at least know what you’re paying for.
MoneyHelper notes that even relatively small differences in fees can have a significant effect when pension money remains invested for many years.
Where is your pension actually invested?
Many workplace pensions automatically put members into a default investment fund.
That’s perfectly reasonable for someone who doesn’t want to manage investments themselves.
But the fund selected when you were 35 may not necessarily match what you want at 55.
Check the balance between shares, bonds, cash and other investments and understand how much risk you’re taking.
Too much risk close to retirement can hurt if markets fall just when you need the money.
But becoming extremely cautious too early can also limit growth when your pension may still need to last another 30 years.
The important thing is that your investment strategy should be deliberate — not simply forgotten.
Are you getting all the free money available?
This is perhaps the easiest pension question of all:
If you contribute more, will your employer contribute more too?
Under automatic enrolment, the usual legal minimum contribution is 8% of qualifying earnings, including at least 3% from the employer. But many employers offer more generous schemes or matching contributions above the minimum.
If your employer will match additional contributions and you’re not taking advantage of it, you’re effectively leaving part of your compensation package unused.
Ask HR what the maximum employer contribution is.
Your 50s can be powerful pension-building years
For many men, earnings peak somewhere in their late 40s or 50s.
The mortgage may be smaller. Children may be becoming financially independent. And retirement is close enough to become real.
That makes these potentially valuable years for increasing pension contributions.
Pension contributions normally benefit from tax relief, and the standard pension annual allowance is currently £60,000, although lower limits can apply to high earners and people who have already flexibly accessed pensions.
Even increasing contributions by a few percentage points for the final decade of your career can make a meaningful difference.
Give your pension a proper MOT
You don’t necessarily need a clever investment strategy.
Start with six questions:
How many pensions do I have?
What are they worth?
What fees am I paying?
How are they invested?
Am I getting the maximum employer contribution?
Could I comfortably contribute more?
Your pension may already be worth more than you thought.
And more importantly, the decisions you make during your final 10–15 working years could determine whether retirement feels constrained — or comfortable.
Enter your age, pension value and monthly contribution to see what your pension could be worth at 60, 65 and 67 — and what increasing your contribution could add.
