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There's nothing like the return to work after the summer holidays to get one dreaming about retirement. But will your finances ever allow you to?
As we reach the middle of Pension Awareness Week, now is a good time to check the robustness of your pension arrangements.
The national campaign is designed to increase understanding of pensions and encourage people to be more proactive with their retirement planning.
It may not be your priority. Our December 2025 survey showed that one in eight respondents would rather go to the dentist than spend an hour planning their retirement.
Here, we share six steps to help you gain more control over your retirement savings.
The first step should be to get all the information you need to assess your pension situation.
If you've regularly changed jobs, it's likely you've built up multiple pension pots in different places, some of which you may have lost track of.
There are estimated to be around 3.3m 'lost' pensions in the UK valued at £31.1bn in total, each worth an average of £9,470.
Pension providers must send you an annual statement, so start by searching for old paperwork to find details of forgotten pots.
If you don't know the name of the pension provider so can't contact it directly, the free Pension Tracing Service operated by the government has a register of all workplace schemes.
This will give you the name and contact details of the provider of an employer's scheme.
Next, you can attempt to produce a current total for your pension savings.
Which? research from May 2026 found that 49% of people didn’t know how much they’d saved into their pension.
Check your pension statement or online account to see how much you and your employer have saved.
49% of people didn’t know how much they’d saved into their pension
Your statement will usually include an estimate of the annual income your pot could eventually provide in retirement, based on certain assumptions and with inflation factored in.
Only 54% of people in our August 2026 survey knew how much their current employers pay into their workplace pension.
Many employers pay in more than the minimum, so make sure you’re making the most of their contributions.
The subsequent, and possibly the most difficult, challenge is to compare what you have (or are projected to have at retirement) with what you think you’ll need.
Our May 2026 survey found that 51% of UK adults who aren't yet retired don't feel confident that they're saving enough for retirement.
Pensions UK has developed three retirement living standards to help address this problem. These reflect the annual amounts you’d need for a minimum, moderate and comfortable standard of living in retirement.
The latest figures show that single-person households need £13,900 a year for a minimum standard of living, rising to £32,700 for a moderate standard and £45,400 to be comfortable. For couples, the equivalent figures are £22,500, £45,400 and £62,700.
Our calculations show that couples will need a combined pension pot of between £332,000 and £389,000 alongside their state pension to achieve Pensions UK's moderate living standard (£45,400 a year) if accessing their money via pension drawdown, or between £340,000 and £510,000 if buying an annuity.
You won’t get the state pension now until you turn 67, but it provides a key source of retirement income and should be included in any calculations. The full rate of the new state pension is £241.30 a week in 2026-27.
With all that information in mind, you’ll need to ask yourself whether your fund is projected to be enough.
If you think that you're falling behind your retirement saving targets, it might be time to review your contribution levels.
The minimum you have to pay into a workplace pension is 8% of your salary. This is made up of 5% from you (including tax relief from the government) and 3% from your employer.
If you can afford to pay more than the minimum or make extra contributions from time to time – for example, if you get a bonus – this will make a big difference to your pot over the long term.
32% of employees had increased their contributions above the minimum level
Our August 2026 research showed that 32% of employees had increased their contributions above the minimum level and 19% had made ad-hoc additional contributions.
Calculations by Standard Life show that an employee increasing their contributions from 5% to 7% at the age of 22 could end up with a pot worth an extra £52,000 (adjusted for inflation) by the age of 68.
Some employers will match your contributions, giving your savings even more of a boost. This was the case for 55% of employees paying into a workplace pension in our August 2026 survey.
The next step is to think about the unthinkable.
Take the time to ensure that you have nominated who your pension should go to when you die. This can usually be done easily online via your pension provider’s website.
It's an important bit of admin because defined contribution pensions aren't part of your estate, so aren't covered by your will.
If you don’t nominate beneficiaries on all your pensions, this could create a headache for the scheme trustees – at whose discretion the money will be paid out – and for the person you'd intended to receive the money.
Changes to the inheritance tax (IHT) treatment of pensions will see some savers reassessing their retirement plans and perhaps spending more of their pension funds during their lifetime.
Whether you’re unsure if you have enough to retire, or are already accessing your savings, our money guidance service can talk you through your options. Which? Money members get unlimited access to them via phone.
Find out moreFinally, if you need assistance with any of this, there is some help out there.
A free guidance session from Pension Wise, part of the government-backed MoneyHelper service, will help you to understand your options before or at retirement.
Pension Wise offers hour-long appointments, which can be held face to face (at Citizens Advice offices), by telephone or online. You need to be 50 or over and have a defined contribution pension to be eligible.
The session covers when you can access your pension pots, the different ways you can take money from your pension, how you'll be taxed on this income and how to spot scams.
If you're younger than 50, you can talk to your employer or someone at your workplace pension provider to discuss any queries. Paying for regulated financial advice is another option.
Select the option that best describes your current situation.
