Nearly three in five (59 per cent) workers who made reductions to their pension contributions due to the Covid-19 pandemic have since resumed or increased their payments, according to Royal London.

This includes 12 per cent who have restarted contributions after stopping them completely during the pandemic.

Last year, Royal London found that 11 per cent of people who contributed to a pension reduced their payments, while 8 per cent stopped them completely.

Men were found to have been more likely to resume or increase their contributions after stopping or reducing them than women, with 66 per cent of male respondents stating they have done so compared to 47 per cent of women.

According to Royal London, the average employee pension contribution among those who had restarted or increased their payments was 4.9 per cent of salary.

Of those surveyed, 33 per cent believed their contributions were adequate, 47 per cent felt they were paying enough but still needed to increase their contributions, and 15 per cent felt they were not contributing enough.

Age was found to be a factor in contribution resumption, with 77 per cent of 18-34 year olds increasing or resuming contributions compared to 51 per cent of 35-54 year olds and 9 per cent of over-55s.

“There’s no doubt the pandemic caused people to rethink their financial priorities and last year we saw pension contributions facing a knockback,” said Royal London consumer finance specialist, Sarah Pennells.

“It’s great to see that people are rethinking their retirement priorities by increasing their pension payments.

“Although some people still think they’re not paying enough into their pension, it’s still encouraging to see some return to normal. However, it’s worrying that less than half of women half restarted their pension contributions, compared to over two-thirds of men.

“We know that women retire on a lower income than men in retirement, so it’s vital they set aside money so they can have a good standard of living in retirement. Any contribution you can make to your pension is better than none, especially if your employer can match it.”

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