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Retirement can feel distant even when you’re in your 50s or 60s, until suddenly it’s just around the corner.
Worryingly, many of us fail to pay our pensions any attention at all, with recent research from Standard Life revealing that almost a fifth (17%) of over 55s have never even looked at their pension. Women are slightly more likely to never check their pension than men, with 14% never having looked at their pension versus 11% of men.
The good news is that it’s never too late to take a small amount of time to make sure your pension is on track. Doing so doesn’t need to be complicated or overwhelming. In just five minutes, you can gather your statements together and check the value of your pensions, as well as see where your money is invested. If you want to go further, here are a few extra steps you might want to consider taking, too.
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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.
Why a quick pension check matters
Many people over 50 have built up their retirement savings over several decades, but just because you’ve saved diligently, that doesn’t automatically mean your money is working as hard as it could be. A pension check enables you to step back, take stock, and ask yourself some key questions:
- Am I on track to live the retirement I want?
- Is my money invested in the right place?
- Are there small adjustments I could make today that have a big impact tomorrow?
Even a five-minute review can help you answer these questions, and often it’s the simple things, such as checking your contributions or reviewing your investment mix, that can have the most impact. Learn more about the importance of checking your pension regularly in our article When did you last check your pension?
Gail Izat, Managing Director for Workplace Pensions at Standard Life, part of Phoenix Group, said: “Your pension pot might not need daily attention like your bank account, but checking it at least once a year is a smart move. It helps you understand how much you’ve saved, what that could mean for your future, and whether you might want to make changes like increasing contributions or reviewing your investments. Regular check-ins can also help shape the type of retirement lifestyle you’ll be able to afford.
“With one in seven people never reviewing their pensions, many risk missing opportunities to boost their savings – or even risk losing track of their pots altogether. As retirement gets closer, staying on top of your pension becomes even more critical, yet it’s worrying to see how many over 55s have never looked at their balance.”
Getting started
There’s one key bit of paperwork you need to carry out your pension check, and that’s your annual pension statement, or statements if you have more than one pension.
This statement provides you with a summary of your retirement savings and tells you how your pension has performed over the last year.
It’s a useful document that can help you to see clearly how your pension is doing, and where your money is invested. This information can ultimately be used to help you plan your retirement effectively. Learn more in our guide Your annual pension statement explained.
Remember that if you’ve had more than one job – and most of us have – you might have several pension pots tucked away, so you’ll need to dig out statements for all of them. These can include:
- Workplace pensions
- Personal pensions
- Stakeholder pensions
Once you’ve found the necessary paperwork, make a quick list of all your pensions, noting the current values. If you’ve lost track of some pots, the UK government’s Pension Tracing Service can help you locate them. You can find out how in our guide Tracing lost pensions – How to find my old pensions.
You’ll need to factor in how much you’re likely to receive from the State Pension too. You can find out how much you’re on track to receive by requesting a State Pension Forecast. Learn more in our article How can I get a State Pension forecast?
How much are you paying in?
Once you know the rough value of your retirement savings, take a look at how much you’re paying in each month. If you’re still working, even small increases in contributions can have a significant long-term effect.
If your employer has automatically enrolled you into a workplace pension scheme, the minimum contribution is 8% of ‘qualifying earnings’. Of that 8%, your employer can’t contribute less than 3%, but they can pay as much of the 8% as they want (although most contribute 3%). Learn more in our article How does pension auto-enrolment work?
Increasing your contributions by just 1% or 2% of your salary may not feel like a lot now, but remember that these will be boosted by tax relief and your savings can grow substantially thanks to compounding over the next few years.
Remember that there’s a limit to the amount you can pay into your pension each tax year and benefit from tax relief, however, known as your Annual Allowance. In the current 2025/26 tax year, this is £60,000 or your annual income, whichever is lower.
Many employers will match pension contributions up to a certain percentage – so check if you’re taking full advantage of this. Find out more in our guide 11 simple ways to top up your pension in 2026.
Review where your money is invested
Over time, the mix of investments your retirement savings are in can have a big impact on growth and the amount you end up with when you stop work. If you’re in your 50s and planning to retire soon, you might want to gradually shift your investments to less risky options. Many pension providers do this automatically on your behalf through a process known as lifestyling.
However, if you’re happy to continue growing your savings as you’ve still got several years to go before retirement, and you’re comfortable accepting a higher level of risk, keeping a portion invested in higher-growth assets might make more sense.
The most important thing you need to do is to ensure your pension aligns with your goals and approach to risk. You can learn more about this in our article Where is my pension invested? Even making a small adjustment can make a significant difference over time, but if you’re not sure where your savings should be invested, you may want to consider seeking professional advice.
Don’t forget your State Pension entitlement
Many people forget to factor in the State Pension when thinking about how much they’ll have to live on in retirement. If you’re over 50, now is a good time to check your National Insurance record to see how much State Pension you’re likely to get.
You can check your State Pension forecast online in just a few minutes at GOV.UK. You’ll need to sign in to use this service. If you do not already have sign-in details, you’ll be able to set them up. Find out more about the process in our guide How can I get a State Pension forecast?
Knowing this figure will help you see the full picture of your retirement income – combining both private pensions and the State Pension. If there are gaps in your National Insurance record, it might be possible to make voluntary contributions to top up your State Pension. You can find out whether this is worth doing in our article Is it worth paying to top up your State Pension?
A final thought…
The beauty of a quick pension check is that it gives you greater control over your retirement. You’re not just checking a few numbers on your statement, you’re investing in yourself and your long-term future. Whether a check results in you increasing your contributions, reviewing investments, or simply working out exactly how much income you’re likely to need in retirement, small actions now can be transformative later on.
Your 50s, 60s, and beyond can be vibrant, fulfilling years, but a little planning now can make them even more so.
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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.
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