As the cost of living increases, it is more important than ever that people are engaged with all aspects of their finances, including their pensions.

In a recent PLSA survey we heard that one in five pension schemes surveyed have seen
savers asking about reducing or stopping their pension contributions (19 per cent),
with a fifth wanting early access to their pension after age 55 (17 per cent).

Only a quarter of scheme respondents said they have seen no changes in saver behaviour
over the past few months (28 per cent).

More positively, there is very little sign that savers are actually taking the next step beyond asking questions and actually taking action to reduce their pension contributions.

Moreover, only around one in 10 schemes surveyed said that they have seen members wanting to opt out (12 per cent), which is only a little above the long-term trend of 9 per cent.

But there is some sign of people over the age of 55 accessing some of their pension savings early.

Savers who are considering reducing or pausing their pension contributions or – for
over-55s – dipping into their pot to cover short-term expenses, should understand that doing so could have significant impacts.

For members of workplace schemes, this could mean losing out on employer contributions, and for those contributing to any kind of pension scheme, would mean missing out on the tax relief the government boosts pension contributions with.

We believe that it’s important that people maintain their pension contributions, whenever they can afford to do so, as stopping contributions now could have a serious impact on their retirement living standards in the future.

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