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Are you ready for retirement? 2 in 5 people have no financial plan after work

Are you ready for retirement? 2 in 5 people have no financial plan after work

Here's how to get to grips with your retirement finances while still working.

Older women walking together outdoors

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Melanie Wright

Published: September 25, 2026 at 12:49 PM

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Two in five people approaching retirement could be heading for a financial shock because they have no plan in place for how they’ll fund later life.

Research from the government’s Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) found that 41% of people aged between 55 and 65 have no financial plan for when they retire.

Tim Sheppard, policy and propositions manager at MaPS, said: “Retirement planning is crucial; it ensures that people feel more confident about their future and are better prepared for later life. However, we know that so many people just don’t know where to start.”

The good news is that getting to grips with your retirement finances doesn’t have to be complicated. A useful starting point is to work out exactly how much you have in your pension or pensions.

Many of us will have worked for several employers over the years, so it may be that you have retirement savings that you’ve lost track of or forgotten about. Write a list of all your employers and get in touch with any you think you had a pension with but you no longer have any paperwork for. If you’re stuck, you can use the government’s free pension tracing service to find contact details to search for a lost pension.

Once you’ve located your pensions, and totted up their combined value, you should have more of an idea of whether you’re on track for retirement or not.

Don’t rush to combine them, without checking first whether any of them come with valuable benefits or guarantees that could be lost if you transfer them.

If you’re concerned that you don’t have enough saved, it’s worth exploring whether you might be able to top up your contributions. If you belong to a workplace pension, some employers will match extra contributions, so if you increase yours, they might increase theirs too.

Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, said: “Pension contributions usually come with tax relief too, so a £100 contribution might only cost you £80 if you’re a basic-rate taxpayer. Higher earners could get even more back. It’s one of the few times you might enjoy hearing about tax, so take advantage.”

Use our free annuity calculator. Get up to 47% more from your pension savings.

Don’t forget to check your State Pension forecast, too, as this will form an important part of many people’s retirement income. You can check yours at gov.uk.

Adam Cole, retirement specialist at Quilter, said: “Looking at your State Pension forecast can help identify gaps in your National Insurance record and whether making voluntary contributions could boost your entitlement.

“Those who have spent time out of the workforce caring for family should also ensure they are receiving any National Insurance credits they are entitled to, while grandparents providing childcare may be able to benefit from Specified Adult Childcare Credits, a valuable but often underutilised way of increasing future State Pension income.”

If you need more help, MaPS has launched a new ‘Get retirement guidance’ tool to help people aged 55 and above who might be worried about getting their finances ready for retirement. If you’re looking for personal recommendations, however, you’ll need to seek professional financial advice.