We’re often told to save more for retirement, but have you ever stopped to think about how your pension pot compares to your peers?
Is your pension wealth keeping up with the Jones’s? How does your nest egg stack up against people of a similar age to you?
Saving for retirement can be difficult when you’ve got so many other competing priorities for your money, such as paying a mortgage or putting kids through private school. The state pension will pay you a base income (around £11,975 a year if you qualify for the full new state pension), but this is not enough for a comfortable retirement.
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While employees benefit from auto-enrolment and receive employer contributions into their pension, self-employed workers have it particularly hard as they must open and pay into a pension by themself.
Comparing ourselves to others in the same age bracket can highlight some trends and show us how we’re doing versus the average. But, remember that everyone’s circumstances are different – for example, in terms of salary and retirement goals. Average balances can be skewed by super savers with high balances or low-paid workers starting out with small balances.
If your pension pot is higher than the average for your age group, don’t assume you’re all set to achieve your retirement goals. Regardless of how you compare to your peers, are you actually on track to afford your own dream retirement?
There’s nearly always more that can be done to boost your pension further, whether that’s using a strategy like the 4% rule or switching your pension to a cheaper provider.
And if it’s lower, try not to get stressed. Think about whether your pension savings are on track to meet your goals for later life. If they are, keep calm and carry on. If they’re not, now’s a great time to think about what you can do to enhance your nest egg.
Even if your retirement is many years away, the steps you take today can make a big difference to your quality of life in the future.
READ MORE: HMRC vows to tackle overtaxed pension scandal as pensioners reclaim millions
Average pension pot by age
The Office for National Statistics (ONS) has data on how much the average pension pot is worth for seven different age groups.
| Age group | Average pension wealth | Row 0 – Cell 2 |
| 16-24 | £2,700 | Row 1 – Cell 2 |
| 25-34 | £9,500 | Row 2 – Cell 2 |
| 35-44 | £30,600 | Row 3 – Cell 2 |
| 45-54 | £81,200 | Row 4 – Cell 2 |
| 55-64 | £189,700 | Row 5 – Cell 2 |
| 65-74 | £190,000 | Row 6 – Cell 2 |
| 75+ | £90,300 | Row 7 – Cell 2 |
Source: Pension wealth: wealth in Great Britain, ONS, 2022
Unsurprisingly, the youngest people have the smallest pension pots. Those aged 16 to 24, and this will include many people who are studying and not in work and therefore not saving for retirement, have average pension wealth of £2,700.
This figure then more triples to £9,500 once we get into the 25 to 34 age bracket, where the vast majority of people are working.
The average amount then roughly triples again to £30,600 for the 35-44 age group. Average pension wealth peaks when savers are aged between 55 and 74, with around £190,000 tucked away for retirement.
It then falls to £90,300 for those aged 75 and over as they start to spend their savings in retirement.
The ONS data also highlights the gender pension gap, with men having more in their pensions than women at every age group. For example, the average man aged 45 to 54 has £100,000 in pension wealth. But the average woman only has £61,600.
The difference is most stark in the 65 to 74 age group where the average woman has retirement savings worth £137,400. In contrast, men have £260,500 squirrelled away.
Some pension providers have also done research into how much pension pots are worth for different age groups. Fidelity surveyed 2,000 UK non-retired adults in May last year to find out their total pension wealth.
| Row 0 – Cell 0 | Men | Women | Average UK adult |
| Average | £76,700 | £42,600 | £59,650 |
| Aged 18-34 | £59,700 | £30,400 | £45,050 |
| Aged 35-54 | £80,300 | £46,800 | £63,550 |
| Aged 55+ | £114,000 | £66,800 | £90,400 |
Fidelity’s figures reveal a similar, sizeable gender pension gap.
Meanwhile, PensionBee gave the following figures to MoneyWeek showing the average pension of its customers:
- Aged 18-29 – £3,609
- Aged 30-39 – £10,372
- Aged 40-49 – £23,807
- Aged 50 and over – £42,503
Don’t panic if you’re lagging your age group
What may look like a low pension balance today can grow in value over time with steady saving, tax relief, investment gains, and compounding.
“Trying to build up a good level of pension savings can feel like a big mountain to climb but it is precisely the regular drip feed of contributions mixed with long-term investment growth that can see the amount you build up really grow over the years,” comments Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown.
“Taking regular actions like increasing contributions as and when you have extra cash – for instance if you get a payrise – can make a huge difference. Using pension calculators can also give you some insight into how much you are on track to receive and the impact of boosting your contributions on your retirement income.”
Lisa Picardo, chief business officer UK at PensionBee, echoes this advice: “The first course of action should be to check in on your current pension contributions and consider raising them by 1 or 2% if you can afford to do so. As pensions benefit from compound interest, even making small regular or one-off contributions now can significantly increase the size of a pension pot over time.”
She adds that it’s encouraging to see that younger savers are forecast to accumulate larger pension pots than previous generations, “but the persistence of the gender pension gap is extremely disappointing”.
Picardo notes: “It is vital that female savers are supported in saving as much as into their pension from early on in their careers, as we know the pension gap only widens with age. For those with caring responsibilities, it’s important to continue paying into your pension in whatever quantity you can. This could also mean asking a partner to pay into your pension for you if it makes sense to do so.”
We have more on this topic in Can you pay into someone else’s pension – and how much can you pay?
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