One in Three UK Adults Has No Idea How Much They Need to Retire

Retirement is one of the biggest financial events most people will ever face, yet a surprising number of us go into it with no clear sense of how much money we’ll actually need. For some, the topic just keeps getting pushed down the list until it’s almost too late to do much about it.

The numbers behind this are worth a closer look, because they tell us something important about where people get stuck and what tends to make the difference. Keep on reading to see what the latest FCA data reveals and the simple steps that can help you get back on track.

What the FCA Data Actually Shows

The Financial Conduct Authority runs a large survey called Financial Lives, and the 2024 pensions findings paint a clear picture. 31% of non-retirees said they had not really thought about how they’re going to manage financially in retirement, down from 35% in 2017 but still close to one in three working-age adults.

It gets more specific when you look at pension pots. 29% of those with a defined contribution (DC) pension still building up did not know roughly what their combined pot was worth. If you don’t know what you’ve got, it’s very hard to know whether it’s enough.

There’s also a confidence gap. 61% of all DC pension holders agreed that their pension alone would not be enough to live on in retirement. Plenty of people sense they’re behind, but sensing it and acting on it are two different things.

Why So Many People Put It Off

Part of the problem is that retirement feels far away when you’re younger, so it’s easy to assume there’s plenty of time. Money that could go into a pension often gets spent on things that feel more pressing right now, like a mortgage or the cost of raising children.

There’s also a knowledge barrier. Pensions come wrapped in jargon, and not everyone feels equipped to make sense of it. The FCA data backs this up. Among DC pension holders with low self-rated confidence in managing money, only 31% had reviewed their pot in the last year, compared with 60% of those with high confidence. When something feels confusing, the natural response is to avoid it.

For a smaller group, it comes down to money being genuinely tight. In 2024, 33% of adults aged 50+ with no private pension provision said they could not afford to pay into one, up from 26% in 2017. That’s a real constraint, not just procrastination, and it shows the gap isn’t only about awareness.

How to Work Out What You’ll Actually Need

The good news is that getting a grip on the numbers doesn’t have to be complicated. The starting point is to think about the kind of life you want once you stop working, then map that against what you’re likely to have coming in.

A simple way to begin is to gather a few key figures:

• The current value of any pensions you hold, including old ones from past jobs
• What you and your employer are paying in each month
• What you’ll get from the State Pension and from what age
• A rough estimate of your monthly spending in retirement

Once you can see these side by side, the picture usually becomes much clearer. You might find you’re closer than you feared, or you might spot a gap with enough time left to do something about it. Either way, you’re no longer guessing. Learning how to prepare for retirement early is one of the most useful steps you can take, because the earlier you start the more room you have to adjust.

The Real Cost of Waiting

The thread running through all of this is time. The sooner you understand your position, the more options you have, whether that’s paying in a little more, adjusting your plans, or simply feeling more in control. Leaving it untouched only narrows the choices you’ll have later.

You don’t need to have everything worked out in one sitting. Checking what you’ve got and writing down what you want is a solid first step, and it puts you ahead of the third of non-retirees who haven’t started at all.

The value of your investments and the income from them may go down as well as up, and you could get back less than you invested. Past performance should not be seen as an indication of future performance.