More than a third of people (34 per cent) do not know how much they should be contributing to their pensions each year to achieve a decent income in retirement, research from Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has found.

A survey of 2,000 adults, conducted by Opinium on behalf of HL in October 2025, found that while some people had a sense of the amount needed, many remained uncertain about their savings requirements.

Among those who said they had an idea, 18 per cent believed they should save between 6 and 10 per cent of their salary each year, while a further 17 per cent said between 11 and 15 per cent.

Indeed, the latest data from HL’s Savings and Resilience Barometer suggested that higher earners in particular were at risk of undersaving, with auto-enrolment minimum levels unlikely to be sufficient to maintain their lifestyles in retirement.

However, the research found that uncertainty was actually more pronounced among lower earners, with 35 per cent of basic rate taxpayers saying they did not know how much they needed to save, compared to just 14 per cent of higher rate taxpayers.

Commenting on the findings, HL head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, said that not knowing how much to contribute left people “at risk of thinking we are on track when we aren’t”.

“Retirement should be a time when we can enjoy life at a more relaxed pace,” she said.

These concerns were echoed in Standard Life's Retirement Voice 2025 report, which found that almost half (45 per cent) of UK adults believed that being auto-enrolled into a workplace pension meant they are saving enough for retirement - a figure that rises to 61 per cent among Gen Z and 51 per cent among Millennials.

Morrissey emphasised that understanding individual retirement goals was key to determining appropriate savings levels. She also stressed the importance of tracking old pensions and considering consolidation where appropriate.

Recent research from Standard Life found that more than a quarter (26 per cent) of UK adults don't know who their current pension provider is, whilst alarmingly, two-thirds (66 per cent) have never even tried to track down their lost pots.

However, Morrissey cautioned that savers should always check for potential exit fees or lost benefits before transferring, adding: “It rarely makes sense to transfer a final salary pension.”

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