People who check in on their pensions only do so for around half an hour each year, according to new research from the pensions industry. The figures also show that 48 per cent of adults didn’t check-up on their retirement savings at all in the past twelve months.
By comparison, people spend at least 30 minutes every week on household chores such as doing the laundry, cleaning the bathroom and putting out the bins. The industry-wide Pension Attention campaign is urging people to replace one of their usual tasks with a pension-related job for just one week to ensure their long-term finances don’t get overlooked.
Campaign manager for Pension Attention, Sarah Cordey, said:
We’re all busy looking after the regular household chores, but it’s important that paying attention to your pension isn’t always the last thing on your to-do list. We’re suggesting everyone skips a job this week and uses the time for some pension admin instead, or perhaps persuades another member of the household to step in.
The funds people build up in their workplace pensions are money they’ll depend on for several decades after they stop working so there aren’t many more important tasks. This isn’t about saving more money – we just want people to spend a little time making sure they know where their pensions are and how to keep an eye on them.
Chore Average weekly time Why not….
Loading the dishwasher 06:42 Find all your pension paperwork
Supervising homework 07:06 Register for online access to your accounts
Cleaning the toilet 08:06 Check your personal details are up-to-date
Changing the bed sheets 08:24 Use the online calculator at pensionattention.co.uk
The campaign is also persuading people to pay their pension some attention by partnering with grime artist and Bafta-winning TV cook Big Zuu. He’s produced a new track and accompanying video to encourage people to ask questions, make connections and think about their future intentions.
Big Zuu said:
We need to stop thinking that people can only have a pension if they earn a lot or come from a wealthy background. As long as you have a bit of money to put aside, you can have a pension. The more I’ve looked into pensions recently, it’s made me realise they’re such an important tool for everyone.
Some parts of it may seem complicated at first, but if you get the right information and take the right steps, it’s really simple. The more you think of it as a way to secure your future, it can only lead to good things.”
There’s more from Big Zuu on the website pensionattention.co.uk, where people will also find tips about keeping track of their pension savings.
The Pension Attention campaign is co-ordinated by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and funded by a large proportion of the pensions industry. It is working in partnership with Pensions Awareness Week and National Pension Tracing Day.
The campaign is made possible thanks to the generous support of our sponsors: Aegon, Aviva, Cushon, Fidelity, Legal & General, Nest, NOW: Pensions, Pru, Royal London, Scottish Widows, Smart Pension, Standard Life, and the People’s Pension.
Methodology
Opinium surveyed 2,000 UK adults between 23rd and 26th August 2022 on behalf of the campaign.
https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2022/10/dont-leave-pensions-last-on-the-to-do-list/
