45% of working age people not saving toward a pension at all

[FernFaery]

https://www.theguardian.com/money/2026/may/19/britons-not-saving-enough-retire-pensions-commission

Another looming crisis!

Not only that but the government has TOTAL control over it. They can charge you whatever they like for you to access it, lock it away from you until they decide you can access it, enact any laws they like that dictate how you spend it, when you spend it... hell, they can even dip into it and decide they can take some/all if they want.

Trust is a big issue tbh.

I do predict a pension raid, sadly.

I’ve seen it mooted on X that giving every newborn £20k that has to be invested in a pension would be cheaper than the current system.
I don’t disagree with the idea, although it would need to be at least £35k and would need to rise every year with inflation so not as cheap as the person insisted, in fact he blocked me when I mentioned his mythical £1million in 68 years time would only last 10 years due to inflation at current SP rates.
No Government is going to implement a system that won’t take effect for 68 years, they just wont.

Mumsnet is a misrepresentative of the UK as a whole, meanwhile in the real world most people struggle. No way could I afford to pay into a pension.

This.

Many do not want to as they know they will have to work and then come home and do it all while he takes a 5 hour shit or lounges on the sofa doom scrolling. They also know that their wages would go on childcare knowing he will not share the cost. Yes they can choose to do it all or not do it all. Which is why they often have to choose to stop work as the other option is do it all while he does nothing. That is not a choice. Dads could also choose to drop time at work but as they are not paying childcare in most instances or doing all the chores and parenting after work it isn't something they want to do or see a need to do.

However women are working when they are stay at home mums. Both are working just one is in paid employment and one is unpaid. Both are work. Just she works about 18 hours a day to his 8. Men have a choice to parent and do chores....some ppl believe men have no personal ability to make these decisions.

UK welfare payments and pensions are not 'generous'. They are some of the lowest in Europe.

Also many people who claim benefits work but have no choice but to top up their wages with benefits because salaries have not kept up. Yet we never talk about fact cat employers choosing to pay pittance wages so they can maximise profit.

I am also not clear what the populist party expect to do with people who can't work or can't find work? let them die in the gutter?

This is not the type of society I want to live in.

It also find it shocking how so many people in England seem to think that their life would be better if there were no benefits yet never question dodgy politicians, CEOs and wealth hoarders in general who have built such an unequal society.

It is like the right wing media and politicians have succeeded in brainwashing the gullible...

Having been self-employed since my 30s, and now retired, the time I've spent learning about pensions and managing our investment (mine's a SIPP) has been the best-paying work I ever did!

There is already a deeply unfair situation where those who get pension credit (because they never saved) are better off than those who paid into a modest ccupational pension. This is because pension credit is a passport to other benefits that those thrifty individuals who have saved are denied. Thanks to Rachel from Accounts people in this group were very badly served by suspension of the WFA.

What I am saying is some people work damn hard to make themselves attractive employees. Whilst some wilt at the slightest bump.

It's not all luck, there is some element of luck for some people, but for the vast majority being a decent worker is what gets them the work.

When you are state funded, be that during your younger years or at retirement, you get what the state can provide not what you think you should have.

And the state provides a basic pension for all. Anything above that is up to you or your family etc.

How are you getting that sort of return? I can figure out your rough working.

So heartless!

The only ways a pension would be worthless after 50 years of investing with tax relief on top is if the world as we know it ceases to exist, in which case a pension would be the least of your problems,
or if you invest stupidly. Anyone investing in a low cost Global tracker will have an average 8% growth per year over that half century. Of course it’s not linear and you get peaks and troughs but drip feeding in smooths it out and as long as you de-risk slowly over the decade before retirement, you would have a decent amount.
£125 a month, contributions increasing by 2.5% a year , would give £800,000 after 45 years at 8% growth, probably half of what you’d need for a 25 year retirement at current SP rate when adjusted for inflation.

Trust is a big issue tbh.

Completely agree, and it's an area where this government have been really weak. Allowing rumours to circulate about removal of the tax free amount, trying to tinker with how pensions are invested via mandatory investment in private assets, changes to the allowances...it's been an absolute disaster for investor confidence. It's clear that Labour sees pensions as being a potential cash cow, either through changing the tax rules or through attempting to drive growth (and hence tax receipts) by requiring particular kinds of investments. But this is the opposite of what's needed to encourage people to put money into their pensions.

If we want growth and investment then we need to stop behaving like a basket case economy, changing leaders every 5 minutes and creating barriers to trade. Trying to use people's pensions to plug the gap will just mean fewer people want to pay into a pension.

Apparently a third of those with DC pensions take the whole amount as soon as they are able,while still working, probably paying 40% tax on a big chunk of it, that needs to be stopped, although the Goverment won’t mind all that nice extra ‘stupidity’ tax.
The problem with most people is that they want jam today and HM Govt aren’t helping by destroying trust.

I was planning on building an index linked Gilt ladder within my pension to start paying out in a decade but I’m not entirely convinced I’ll actually be paid back, even though they have never defaulted. That’s what lack of trust in your Government does.

It isn't. It's fabulous.

It is if you can afford it. Many can't.

This is the problem. The UK is not an especially rich country, not anymore. We are around number 25 and falling fast. I read somewhere that Poland is expected to overtake us by the end of the decade. People will need to revise their expectations on what the welfare state can provide.

Most people live day to day, there's no way of funding a pension.

👏

And apparently not save £100 a month for a holiday with your children but put it into your pension pot instead.

Some posters assumed ive saved £100 a month for decades for holidays amd blasted me for wanting to take my kids away. Nope, this is the first year I have been able to put money aside for a holiday.

But yeah, I wont take them on holiday, il put £100 into my pension pot for 12 months instead.

Like honestly wtf?!

Oh and the £25 a month i put into their birthday and christmas funds.....apparently £300 on a birthday/christmas (split) is too much money and that should go into my pension too?!

So no Christmas or birthdays for them?

I love rich people telling poor people how to spend their money 🙄

8% per year growth with a hands-off, no financial knowledge required, global share price tracker is the historical average over decades. Factor in compound growth and inflation and contributing less than £50 per month results in a nominal sum at 68 (even if you work in a minimum wage job for your entire working life) of £1.5-1.7m, per my earlier post (including the tax relief and employer contribution - so this is making just the standard 5% employee contribution on minimum wage over working life) because of the compounding. In real-terms (adjusted for inflation) this is likely to result in a pension fund of £350k-400k in “today’s money” which buys a 68 year old an annuity of £25-27k per year index linked (so uprated for inflation over their lifetime).

Clearly a £200 per month contribution (4 times as much) would be expected to result in a pension fund 4 times this size by the time the person retires.

A third??? Are you sure? Because this would be utterly insane. Are people really this dumb?

Thank you, @DrRylandGrace for explaining how investment returns and compounding works.

Pragmatic.

It doesn’t surprise me. I started an apprenticeship in my early 20s with a big company, generous pension you contribute 5% and the company contributes 10%. I was in a group of 5 locally who started at the same time, I was the only one who didn’t opt out of the pension.

We will all be turning 30ish now and I wonder if they have started contributing, I imagine it’s much harder to start as well all have more responsibilities now became home owners/ started having kids etc.

I actually upped my contributions to 10% a couple of years ago, if we get a pay rise next year I will look to up it by that percentage again.

I disagree. There but for the grace...