What pension savers aren’t telling you

Pension companies today are caught in a squeeze. People are more worried than ever about inflation eating into their retirement savings, but at the same time many aren’t sure how to set up or manage a pension. 

Across both the US and UK, affordability, a lack of knowledge and fears of government cutbacks are keeping people from feeling secure about their future.

Our latest research digs into what people really want from their pensions, what’s stopping them from saving and what they dream about for their retirement. 

From inflation and performance concerns to the desire for personalised advice, these insights can help pension providers and their insights teams understand how to better connect with today’s cautious but hopeful savers.

Quick pension insights summary

Here’s a TL;DR rundown of the key findings from our research:

• In the US, 27% don’t have a pension at all; 41% have a workplace pension, 30% rely on Social Security and 21% have a private pension
• 43% of Americans worry most about inflation eroding their pension; 39% fear outliving their savings
• 50% of Americans would consider switching pension providers for better investment performance; 85% say personalised advice is important
• In the UK, only 34% expect to rely on the state pension despite 80% qualifying for it; 51% have a workplace pension
• 49% of Brits are most worried about state pension cutbacks; 48% fear inflation
• 42% of Brits would switch providers for better performance; 89% want personalised pension advice

US pension insights

A quarter of Americans don’t have a pension

Our research found that 27% of respondents in the US don’t have any pension. There are of course several reasons for this – low or irregular income, immigration status or lack of awareness being some. 

Meanwhile, 30% said they do have Social Security, and 41% said they have a workplace pension arranged through their employer, with 14.5% also having a defined benefit/final salary pension. A further 21% have a private pension they arranged themselves. 

Inflation is people’s main pension concern

A sizable 43% of Americans told us they’re most worried about inflation eroding the value of their pension – and this percentage is fairly consistent across the age groups. 

Outliving savings came second overall – 39% chose this. Interestingly we see a particular spike for the 45–54 age group, with 47% stating this as a top key concern. This compares with just 32% of people aged 55–64.

Government/state pension cutbacks was chosen by 35% of our US respondents, with 30% choosing market volatility. And not getting enough advice was chosen by just 16% overall – but we see this rise significantly in the younger groups, with 27% of 18–24s and 23% of 25–34s worried about a lack of guidance.

Performance, lower fees and more flexibility are switching drivers

When asked what might make people think about changing their private or workplace pension provider, the outcome was:

• Better investment performance – 50%
• Lower fees – 38%
• More flexible retirement income options – 38%
• Better pensions guidance and advice – 28%
• Easier online management – 24%
• Better visibility on pension’s progress – 22%
• Easy switching process – 18%
• Better customer service – 17%
• Ethical/sustainable investment choices – 16%

And it seems that personalized pension advice or guidance should be a no-brainer for providers in 2025. A huge 85% of respondents told us it’s important to them, with just 13% saying it’s not important.

Affordability and knowledge are top reasons people don’t have private pensions

A third of our US respondents told us that one of the main reasons they don’t currently have a private or workplace pension is that they can’t afford to save right now. We see this percentage rise to 36% for people aged 25–34 and to 38% for those aged 35–44. 

The second highest overall response was that people don’t know enough about pensions to set one up – 20.5% of the US population said this. We see a sizable uptick for the youngest group, with 36.5% of people aged 18–24 saying this, showing that education among even this youngest group is a key driver to get people saving.

Family time, new hobbies and traveling are top of the retirement wish list

Across all age groups, our research shows that people’s number one goal for retirement is to spend more time with their family. Almost three in five (59%) chose this. 

Taking up hobbies came second overall, with over half (51%) planning this. Traveling came a close third with 50% hoping to jet off when they retire.

And thinking about their main financial goal for retirement, covering basic living expenses is at the top – 41% will prioritize this. 35% want to maintain their current lifestyle, while 12% are focused on leaving an inheritance – a percentage that drops to 4% for people aged 45–54. 

UK pension insights

Only a third of Brits expect to rely on their state pension

We asked our UK respondents which types of pension they have. Surprisingly only a third (34%) actively chose the state pension – particularly surprising when 80% of people who reach pension age will receive the full state pension. This shows that there’s potentially a lot of education the government and financial institutions can do to help people understand what they’re entitled to. 

A larger 51% of the population told us they currently have a workplace pension, with a further 28% saying they have a private pension they arranged themselves. 

Government cutbacks worry pension-holders the most

Almost half of our respondents (49%) told us what worries them the most about their pension is state pension cutbacks from the government. This percentage rises with each successive age group, with 59.5% of people aged 55–64 choosing this option. 

Inflation is also a big worry, with 48% of people overall choosing this as a concern. A further 36% are concerned about outliving their savings, with 30% stating market volatility as a worry. 

Pension-switching Brits want better investment performance

More than two fifths (42%) of our UK respondents said that better investment performance would make them think about changing their private or workplace pension provider – more than any other option:

• Better investment performance – 42%
• Lower fees – 34.5%
• More flexible retirement income options – 33%
• Better visibility on pension’s progress – 31%
• Better pensions guidance and advice – 30%
• Easy switching process – 28%
• Easier online management – 23%
• Better customer service – 18%
• Ethical/sustainable investment choices – 15%

Nine in 10 people want personalized advice

Among our UK respondents, a sizable 89% think personalized pension advice and guidance is important. 

There’s a particular appetite for advice in one age group. Of people aged 25–34, a huge 97% said it’s important to them. This gives providers some direction on who to aim guidance towards to gain traction.

Overall, just 2% of Brits told us that pension advice and guidance wasn’t important to them.

Affordability is holding people back from private pensions

Among those who don’t have a private or workplace pension, 40% told us a main reason was that they can’t afford to save right now. 

Meanwhile 22% said they plan to start a pension in the future, but haven’t got around to it yet. And 14% said they simply don’t know enough about pensions to set one up – again showing the need for education on pensions and retirement planning. 

Family time is people’s top retirement goal

Three fifths (61%) of our UK respondents said they hope to spend more time with family when they retire. This interestingly drops slightly to 48% for people aged 45–54, and is highest for people aged 25–34, 73% of whom look forward to family time. 

Traveling came out as the second most popular retirement goal – 55% hope to jet off. And 54% told us they hope to take up some new hobbies. 

Thinking more financially, Brits’ top goal for retirement is to maintain their current lifestyle – 41% chose this. And a third (33%) want to simply cover their basic living costs. Meanwhile 15% are thinking predominantly about leaving an inheritance to their loved ones.

Don’t forget – you can dig into the data for yourself if you head over to our interactive dashboard.