The majority (92%) of respondents are falling behind on their retirement savings targets, according to research by Aegon UK.
Its UK readiness report, which surveyed 4,000 UK adults, also found that 22% of respondents are unaware of how many pension pots they have.
The research also found:
- More than a third (37%) of respondents have more than one pension pot.
- 59% of respondents are unaware of the benefits of pensions consolidation.
- 68% of respondents have never considered consolidating their pension.
- 15% of respondents believe that pensions consolidation would have a negative impact on their retirement savings.
- A quarter (25%) of respondents believe pensions consolidation will reduce pension management fees, and two-thirds (66%) of those between the ages of 45-65 are unaware of the benefit pensions consolidation could have on fee costs.
Mark Till, managing director at Aegon UK Direct, said: “With 92% of the UK working population still falling short of their retirement targets, the need to consolidate multiple pension pots is more important than ever before. By not doing so, people incur multiple management fees from the different pension providers.
“Consolidation also makes engagement more efficient. It is nonsensical for people to have consumer packages such as broadband, or utility packages in their daily lives, but not want the same for their pension. When pots are spread widely it can stifle engagement and lose [savers] money [they] didn’t know [they] had, so in a sense, more pension consolidation in the country can help drive up engagement and awareness with pension provisions. The way forward for the government and industry alike is digital engagement."
