Nearly a fifth (17 per cent) of UK adults over the age of 55 have never looked at their pension, research by Standard Life has found.

This is above the overall figure amongst working age people of 14 per cent, despite those over 55 being the closest age cohort to retirement.

By comparison, 12 per cent of 35 to 54 year olds and 10 per cent of people aged between 18 and 34 had never checked their pension, suggesting that younger people are more engaged with their pensions.

Standard Life also found that women were more likely to never check their pension than men, with 17 per cent of women stating they had not looked at their pension compared to 10 per cent of men.

People were more likely to check other financial products, such as ISAs and cash savings, on a regular basis.

Just over one in 10 (11 per cent) survey respondents said they looked at their pension each week, while 23 per cent revealed they checked it annually.

For those who did review their pension in the last year, 27 per cent checked their forecast retirement balance.

Fewer people topped up contributions (10 per cent), consolidated their pensions (9 per cent), made a one-off payment (6 per cent) or adjusted their risk level (6 per cent).

“Paying your pension some attention is an important part of financial planning,” commented Standard Life managing director for workplace pensions, Gail Izat.

“While you don’t necessarily need to check your pension as regularly as you’d check your bank account, you should aim to review how much is in your pot, and what this could mean for your financial future, at least once a year.

“With one in seven never checking their pensions, many are missing out on the chance to maximise their pension savings but may also even be at risk of losing track of their pension pots altogether."

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