UK employees who have switched jobs multiple times have over £15,000 more in pension savings than the average person, according to new research from Wealthify.
The savings and investment services firm surveyed 4,000 UK adults, and found that respondents who have switched jobs four or more times in the past decade have £12,000 more than those who have only moved roles once in the past 10 years.
Called ‘job hoppers’ in the research, they have an average of £105,538 in pension savings, compared to £89,762 for the average UK adult and £93,234 for those who have switched jobs once.
Nearly a fifth of 18-34-year-olds (18%) are frequent job hoppers, while 11% of 34-54-year-olds have switched jobs more than four times in the last 10 years. The average income of job hoppers is £39,276 a year, nearly £10,000 more than those surveyed as a whole (£30,088), and more than those who switched jobs once in the last decade (£35,403).
The sectors with the highest number of job hoppers are hospitality (28%), healthcare (22%), and food and drink (22%). London has the highest number at 19%, followed by the North East (18%) and the West Midlands (14%), while Northern Ireland has the lowest (6%).
One-third (34%) of job hoppers have four or more pension pots, 23% of those who have switched jobs four or more times have one pot, and 18% have a private pension.
Michelle Pearce-Burke, co-founder of Wealthify, said: “Being strategic about switching up [a] career at the right time can be great for boosting [an employee’s] earning power and, if [they’re savvy], growing [their] retirement funds too. Consolidating old workplace pensions into one means [they] can be confident about where [their] money is and keep track of retirement goals.
“As well as making finances easier to manage, consolidating can put [an employee] in a better position for retirement and make savings go further, by potentially reducing the fees on pensions and allowing access to a wider range of investment options. Investments can go down as well as up and, with consolidation, there are some key things to check beforehand, such any exit charges that may apply or if [they] may lose any features, such as loyalty bonuses.”
