Pension Awareness Week is winding down for another year, after shining a spotlight on the top ways for people to engage with their retirement planning and build a more resilient future.

Much like previous campaigns, this week brought a renewed focus on the clear lack of engagement with pensions that currently exists.

Research from Standard Life, for instance, found that nearly half (47 per cent) of UK adults do not know how much they have saved in their pension, revealing that this lack of awareness spans all generations, but is particularly pronounced among older savers.

Research from M&G also sparked calls for earlier action, after finding that 20 per cent of adults, nearly 11 million people, have delayed planning for retirement until aged 40 or after.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, many are also on track for a nasty surprise in retirement, as Interactive Investor’s sixth Great British Retirement Survey revealed that most UK pension savers believe they will fall short of a comfortable retirement, with rising debt, delayed retirement and low levels of financial knowledge fuelling concerns.

Changes in the system could leave some even worse off, as research from the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS) suggested that, although increasing the state pension age is an appropriate way for the government to ease pressure on public finances, changes will not be felt equally by all demographics, with women already out of employment in their late 50s being particularly hard-hit.

The impact of these policy changes is also seen in attitudes towards pensions, as Herbert Smith Freehills Kramer found that only 3 per cent of UK employees confident that the state pension will be a sufficient source of income.

While many are seemingly unaware of the potential changes to pension policy coming down the road, actions speak louder than words, and it seems that some consumers have been made more aware of their pension, but not always for the right reasons.

Indeed, the latest data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) revealed that there has been a significant increase in the amount of money being withdrawn from pensions, with a particular "surge" seen in those accessing large pension pots amid continued speculation over government policy.

Many seem to be taking this knee-jerk response without financial advice, as the FCA found that less than a third (30.6 per cent) of people sought regulated advice before accessing their pension.

But while savers may be paying little attention to the ramifications of their pension choices, scammers certainly are, with this year’s campaign also bringing a renewed focus on the need to protect savers.

Indeed, in addition to calls for action and campaigns from both Action Fraud and The Pensions Regulator, the Financial Ombudsman Service used Pensions Awareness Week as an opportunity to encourage savers to keep their pensions safe.

This comes after figures from the FOS showed that hundreds of people have fallen victim to potential pension scams over the past year, as it has dealt with more than 650 ‘pension liberation’ cases since 2020.

However, the FOS warned that the true numbers could be far higher as the ombudsman can only look at cases involving regulated pension providers and advisers, and many are sadly too embarrassed to come forward.

FOS ombudsman director, Andy Wright, said: “Falling victim to a pension scam can be absolutely devastating, both emotionally and financially. Your pension is the result of years of hard work, and often worth a lot of money, so how you manage it is critically important."

And despite the fact there is still much room for improvement, it seems that the industry’s efforts are paying off in key areas.

Research from Pay Captain, a cloud-based payroll system, revealed that Google searches for sustainable pensions have increased 14 per cent year-on-year, with searches in early September also up 67 per cent compared to August, and interest more than doubling in one week (up 122 per cent) at the start of the month.

Hope for future pension engagement and awareness improvements also remains high, as this week also saw the latest Strategic Plan from the Money and Pensions Service (Maps), which placed pensions dashboards “at the heart” of its future pensions work.

While some have remained sceptical of how the dashboard will be promoted, Maps confirmed that it will be working with the industry and stakeholders to develop and implement a marketing strategy to support the delivery of pensions dashboards.

And this is an endeavour that is sure to increase awareness of pensions, with Maps committed to being there by the side of savers who may be in a for a wake-up call upon seeing their pension savings.

In the meantime, though, there is still plenty for the pensions industry to do to make sure they are ready to support savers that are showing more awareness, particularly as the broader Pension Attention campaign continues on.

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