How does Rest Less make money
We make money through advertising and commission from affiliate links, which enable us to offer Rest Less as a free service to our users. The content on this page may use affiliate links, which track traffic from our website to a third party provider and enable us to receive a commission or payment from any traffic we refer.
* Affiliate links on this page have an * next to them. We place enormous importance on our editorial independence and the integrity of our content which means that we will never change how we write about something as a result of an affiliate link.
If you don’t have a pension or other savings to live off when you retire, you could be entirely reliant on the State Pension. For someone entitled to the full new State Pension, that currently works out at around £32.90 a day, rising to £34.47 a day from April 2026.
More than 1.2 million retired households in the UK are economically inactive and largely dependent on the State Pension for their retirement income, according to analysis of Office for National Statistics data from retirement specialist Just Group.
Meanwhile, Pensions UK’s Retirement Living Standards suggest a single pensioner needs a yearly income of around £13,400 to achieve a ‘minimum’ standard of living in retirement. This leaves a £1,427 shortfall once the £11,973 provided by the current State Pension is taken into account.
Now £33 a day might not sound too bad, but given steep living expenses, including high energy bills, managing on this amount once you’ve factored in food bills, council tax and other essential outgoings might be a challenge, even if you own your property outright.
That’s why it’s vital to think about ways you might be able to boost your retirement savings as soon as possible. Don’t ever assume you’ve left it too late. Even if you’ve got just a few years to go before retirement there are still plenty of things you can do to ensure your money is working as hard as it possibly can for your future. Here’s what you need to know.
Advertisement
If you’re considering seeking professional financial advice on the options available to you, we’ve partnered with nationwide Chartered independent advice firm Fidelius to offer Rest Less members a free initial consultation with a qualified financial adviser. There’s no obligation, however if the adviser feels you’d benefit from paid financial advice, they’ll talk you through how that works and the charges involved.
Fidelius are rated 4.7 out of 5 from over 2,600 reviews on VouchedFor, the review site for financial advisers.
Join your workplace pension
If you haven’t been automatically enrolled in your employer’s pension scheme, perhaps because you only work part-time, then in the vast majority of cases, you should still ask to join it. There are two key advantages:
- Your employer will contribute. Depending on how generous your employer is, they may match your contributions pound for pound, or they may pay in the minimum amount that the law requires. Either way, it’s still a boost to your pension.
- You don’t have to fill in a lot of (online) forms. It’s definitely the case that some people don’t start paying into a pension because they never get around to filling in the application forms. With a workplace pension, you’ll usually be put into it without having to do anything.
Learn more about auto-enrolment in our guide How does pension auto-enrolment work?
Check for State Pension gaps
You’ll usually only qualify for the full State Pension if you’ve made at least 35 years’ worth of National Insurance contributions, so if you’re approaching State Pension age, it’s worth checking how much you’re on track to receive.
You may want to consider topping up your State Pension by paying ‘voluntary class 3 National Insurance contributions’ if you find you have gaps in your National Insurance record. The rate to top up is currently £923 for a full year, which will boost your State Pension by about £342 a year. You’ll usually get your money back from a year’s worth of voluntary contributions within about three years of drawing your State Pension.
You can find out how much State Pension you’re likely to get by requesting a State Pension forecast.
Pay in as much as you can afford
If you’ve still got a few years to go before you plan to retire, consider paying as much as you can into a pension, so you can benefit from valuable tax relief.
If you get a pay rise this year, and you can afford to do so, put some or even all of it towards your pension. If you do it in the first month, you get the pay rise you won’t even notice that you’re ‘missing out’.
As a rough guide, the total amount going into your pension should be roughly half the age you start saving for your retirement. So if you start saving when you’re 55, then 27.5% of your salary ideally needs to go into your pension. Find out more in our article How much should I pay into my pension?
If you’re starting later in life, this guideline can feel daunting. But don’t be discouraged, it’s just a guide, not a target you must hit. Anything you can afford to save is better than nothing.
Remember too that if you’re employed, the percentage of your salary going into your pension will include any money paid in by your employer. Whether you’re employed or self-employed, the figure also includes tax relief.
It can be particularly hard to put money into your pension if you don’t have a permanent staff job or contract, if your hours are uncertain or if you’re self-employed.
But even £2 a day adds up to £60 a month. Investing £60 a month for 10 years (totalling £7,200) could be worth approximately £9,500 to over £12,000 by the time you retire, assuming average annual returns between 6% and 10%. Thanks to compounding, your money has the potential for returns to grow on top of returns over time, although the amount you’ll end up with at retirement isn’t guaranteed and will depend on market performance and fees. Learn more in our guide 11 simple ways to top up your pension in 2026.
If you don’t have any spare cash to save at the moment, see if your partner might be able to help. Lisa Caplan, director of Charles Stanley Direct Advice and Guidance, part of Raymond James Wealth Management, said: “It’s well known that your employer can pay into your pension, but so can your partner. Your pension pot is a great asset to have, and comes with tax benefits, so it’s important to make the most of it. If one of you isn’t working for any reason, you can use the other’s income to top up your pension savings.”
Do you have any missing pensions?
You might not have paid into a pension in recent years, but are you certain that you didn’t contribute to a pension when you first started working?
Many of us lose track of some of our retirement savings over the years, especially if we’ve worked for a number of different employers, or have moved home and not alerted our pension providers to our change of address.
It’s well worth writing a list of any companies you’ve worked for and having a look for any pension paperwork that might indicate you have a forgotten pension waiting to be claimed. Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “That small pension that you had 20 years ago may have grown and could make a sizeable difference to your retirement prospects.
“If you think you may have a lost pension out there then contacting the Pension Tracing Service could be time very well spent. All you need is either the name of the company where you worked or the pension provider. The service can’t tell you whether you have a pension or not, but it can give you the contact details so you can go and find out.”
Find out more in our article Tracing lost pensions – How to find my old pensions.
Could you be eligible for any benefits?
If you’re struggling to make ends meet in retirement, it’s worth checking whether you might qualify for any government support.
David Cooper, director at Just Group, said: “One way people may be able to bridge the retirement income gap is by checking if they are entitled to additional benefits. Figures from the DWP show nearly a million pensioners are missing out on Pension Credit, which is specifically designed to support those on lower incomes, at an average amount of £2,600 a year. For many, this extra income could significantly improve retirement living standards, so it’s vital people check if they’re eligible for unclaimed support.”
From April 2026 it’s expected to increase retirement income by up to £238 a week if you’re a single person (up from £227.10 a week in the 2025/26 tax year), or £363.25 for couples (up from £346.60 in 2025/26), and may be higher in some situations, for example if you’re caring for someone..
Find out more about Pension Credit and eligibility requirements in our guide Pension Credit explained. If you think you might be eligible to claim it, you can make a claim by phone using the Pension Credit claim line on 0800 99 1234. If you’d rather make a paper application, you can request one on the above number, or you can download and print a Pension Claim form here.
Don’t put it off!
There’s always something else to spend your money on, but if saving for your retirement is always at the bottom of your list, you could well end up living on less than £33 a day.
As mentioned, you don’t have to put away a big chunk of money every month in order to boost the amount you’ll have at retirement, but consistency is key. Ms Morrissey said: “Making a commitment to regularly increase your contributions is key. Boosting them every time you get a pay increase or promotion is a good way to do it as the money goes straight into your pension before you have time to get used to the extra money in your bank.”
Advertisement
If you’re considering seeking professional financial advice on the options available to you, we’ve partnered with nationwide Chartered independent advice firm Fidelius to offer Rest Less members a free initial consultation with a qualified financial adviser. There’s no obligation, however if the adviser feels you’d benefit from paid financial advice, they’ll talk you through how that works and the charges involved.
Fidelius are rated 4.7 out of 5 from over 2,600 reviews on VouchedFor, the review site for financial advisers.
Rest Less Money is on Instagram. Check out our account and give us a follow @rest_less_uk_money for all the latest Money News, updated daily.
Join the discussion
Read our full commenting terms and guidelines