More than half of savers keen to consolidate pension pots

Over half (58 per cent) of pre-retirement pension holders with two or more pots are keen to consolidate their pension accounts, according to research from Boring Money.

In particular, the research revealed that 28 per cent of pension savers have consolidated their pension pots at least once in the past, while 30 per cent plan to do so in the future.

However, it showed that engagement in other areas remained low, as only 26 per cent of savers said that they have engaged with their pension to change their investment choices, while 45 per cent have altered monthly contribution levels at least once.

Boring Money CEO, Holly Mackay, commented: “Changing employment patterns and increasing job turnover create pension proliferation, at the same time as better digital solutions and the pensions dashboard show gradual steps towards better communications and visibility.

“Consolidation is on every provider’s radar as an obvious way to grow faster than targeting new money alone. I expect we’ll see a lot more innovation and noise in this space in 2022.”

The research also found that over a third (36 per cent) of savers are planning to work part-time in retirement to supplement their pension income, whilst the latest data from the Office for National Statistics shows that, currently, just 26 per cent of men aged 67 and 17 per cent of women aged 67 are in employment.

In addition to this, the survey found that, even among pre-retirement pension holders with an annual income in excess of £50,000, 30 per cent expect never to fully retire.

It also suggested that cash is still playing too large a role in retirement planning, with almost half (46 per cent) of pension savers stating that they expect to use cash savings accounts outside their pension as part of their retirement income mix.

The Financial Conduct Authority also recently raised concerns that savers holding too much cash could be at risk of having their savings eroded, announcing plans for providers to warn customers holding high levels of cash of these risks.