New research from leading online pension provider PensionBee finds that 63% of UK workers are currently thinking about or in the process of changing their job, in what has been dubbed the ‘Great Resignation’.
More than half (51%) of respondents who are getting ready to make these employment changes already have several pensions from previous jobs, and are worried that they will lose track of them during the move. PensionBee analysis projects that as much as £113 billion in pension savings could be lost track of, by 10.4 million consumers, as a consequence of the rise in job switching.
According to PensionBee research, most job switchers (67%) would like to bring all of their old pensions together into one pot but are worried about the complexity involved. Only 14% of respondents have a plan for their current workplace pension that they feel confident about, whilst a third haven’t given it any thought. Additionally, most (66%) don’t know how much they’ve saved in total across their pension pots.
Romi Savova, Chief Executive Officer of PensionBee, comments: “Whilst it’s very encouraging to see workers taking positive action to pursue careers that would make them happier, this could result in a loss of more than £100 billion in pension savings if they don’t carefully consider a plan for their existing workplace savings.
Our research highlights the importance of consumers having access to an easy pension consolidation process in order to avoid losing track of their hard-earned retirement savings when switching jobs. Pension providers must take away the jargon, paperwork, and complexity, and instead simplify pensions using digital technology. With frequent job switching now a common practice, savers should have the ability to combine their old pensions in one pot and be able to monitor these savings regularly.”
Appendix
Table 1: UK Consumer Survey - Job switching
| Which of the following applies to you? | Proportion of respondents |
|---|---|
| I don’t have any plans to leave my job for the foreseeable future | 33.9% |
| I’m planning to change my job within the next 12 months | 27.1% |
| I’d like to change my job but don’t have any plans to do so yet | 23.6% |
| I’m planning to change my job when the economy recovers | 9.5% |
| I’m not currently employed due to another reason, e.g. I’ve retired, studying, caring | 3.4% |
| I’m not currently employed because I’m between jobs | 2.5% |
Source: PensionBee, August 2021. Respondents: 797.
Table 2: UK Consumer Survey - Current workplace pension
| Have you thought about what you’ll do with your current workplace pension when you change jobs? | Proportion of respondents |
|---|---|
| I’ve given it some thought | 35.8% |
| No, I haven’t given it any thought | 33% |
| I’ve made a plan for my pension which I feel confident about | 14% |
| I’ve tried to research options but it’s too complex so I gave up | 13% |
| I don’t have a pension because I opted out | 4% |
| Other | 0.2% |
Source: PensionBee, August 2021. Respondents: 500.
Table 3.1: UK Consumer Survey - Pension consolidation and visibility
| I have several pension pots from previous jobs and I’m worried I’ll lose track of them | Proportion of respondents |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 15.9% |
| Agree | 35.1% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 14.4% |
| Disagree | 25.5% |
| Strongly disagree | 9.2% |
Source: PensionBee, August 2021. Respondents: 500.
Table 3.2: UK Consumer Survey - Pension consolidation and visibility
| I’d like to bring all my pensions together but it seems very complicated | Proportion of respondents |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 21.7% |
| Agree | 45.1% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 22.3% |
| Disagree | 7.9% |
| Strongly disagree | 2.9% |
Source: PensionBee, August 2021. Respondents: 500.
Table 3.3: UK Consumer Survey - Pension consolidation and visibility
| I don’t know how much I’ve saved in total across my pension pots | Proportion of respondents |
|---|---|
| Strongly agree | 26.9% |
| Agree | 39.2% |
| Neither agree nor disagree | 14.2% |
| Disagree | 14.6% |
| Strongly disagree | 5% |
Source: PensionBee, August 2021. Respondents: 500.
Table 4: Pension savings at risk
| Average weekly earnings UK (£) | 576 (1) |
|---|---|
| Average annual earnings UK (£) | 29,952 |
| Average tenure (years) | 4.5 (2) |
| Minimum pension contribution | 8% (3) |
| Workers thinking about or in the process of job switching | 63% |
| Estimate for the number of workers in the UK aged 16+ (Sept to Nov 2020) | 32,500,000 (4) |
| Proportion of respondents who feel worried about losing track of several pension pots | 51% |
| Total pension savings at risk of being lost during the Great Resignation (£) | £112,595,857,920 |
Source: PensionBee, August 2021. Combination of PensionBee, ONS, and Government data
Footnotes
