More than a quarter (28 per cent) of defined contribution (DC) savers have never logged in to check their pension online or on their phone, research from Barnett Waddingham has revealed, raising concerns savers could be “burying their heads in the sand”.

The survey found that 11 per cent of savers have logged into their pension online or on their phone once ever, and 26 per cent have done so a couple of times, while a "concerning" 37 per cent of those planning to retire within the next two years have never done it.

The findings also showed that the lack of visibility stemming from this is playing out in other financial planning decisions, as while 57 per cent of people have used a pension calculator to see how much will be in their pot at retirement, 43 per cent have not.

In addition to this, it found that more than two thirds (67 per cent) of people have never spoken to a financial adviser about their pension, while 12 per cent have done so once.

It also revealed that the number of people who have spoken with an advisor doesn’t notably increase as people approach retirement, although men are "far more likely" to have done so than women (42 per cent vs 27 per cent).

According to the research, most British savers are either trusting or apathetic about their pensions, as almost three quarters (72 per cent) have never changed how their pension is invested.

In particular, this was true for 66 per cent of 25-30s and 72 per cent of 31-35s, who are sitting in their scheme’s default fund, despite this potentially being too low risk for this age group, meaning it may not generate the returns needed for a healthy retirement pot.

Women were also more likely to be in their default fund than men, at 79 per cent to men’s 62 per cent.

As well as being in the default fund, most workers are contributing the default amount, which is unlikely to be enough for a comfortable retirement, with just 5 per cent of savers consistently increasing their monthly pension contribution, while 59 per cent of savers contribute the bare minimum.

In total, 41 per cent of people had ever increased their monthly pension contributions, with 13 per cent having done it once, 15 per cent a couple of times, and 7 per cent ‘a few times’.

Women were also more likely to pay in the bare minimum, at 66 per cent.

In addition to this, the research found that just under a quarter (23 per cent) of savers have ever put a lump sum of money into their workplace pension, again driven by men (32 per cent versus 17 per cent of women).

A "concerning" 26 per cent of savers had also opted out of their workplace pension altogether, rising to a "whopping" 55 per cent of 18-24s and more than a third (36 per cent) of 25-30s.

Commenting on the findings, Barnett Waddingham partner and head of DC pensions, Mark Futcher, said: “The UK’s auto-enrolment system has hatched a generation of pension ostriches.

“With pensions - and personal finances in general - feeling complex, overwhelming, and often disheartening, many savers are simply refusing to check the status of their pots, nevermind making decisions to improve the outcomes. But burying your head in the sand won’t do you any good in the long run.

“DC pensions can be brilliant. Our latest analysis of the UK’s master trust landscape painted a picture of strong governance, good returns, and low fees.

"The problem lies in people saving too little, and employers failing to encourage better habits - like auto-escalation of contributions at the point of pay rise or career break.

“If everyone took twenty minutes to log-in to their workplace pension, use a calculator to check the expected pot at retirement, and consider the possibility of increasing the contribution by just 1 per cent this year, we’d be a big step closer to tackling the looming pensions crisis in the UK.”

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