Paying Attention Isn’t Enough: How We Turn Pension Awareness into Action
By Jen Tippin, Group CEO, Procentia
September 2026
Every September, National Pension Awareness Week asks people across the UK to do something remarkably simple: take two minutes to check in on their pension.
That small prompt matters.
For many people, pensions still feel distant, complicated, or easy to leave for another day. ‘Pension Awareness’ aims to change that by offering free, straightforward information and helping people understand where they stand before deciding what to do next. Its ambition is to move pension planning from “I’ll deal with it later” towards earlier, more active engagement.
The industry-wide ‘Pay Your Pension Some Attention’ campaign builds on the same principle. Coordinated by Pensions UK and the Association of British Insurers, it encourages savers to locate their pensions, check their balances and contributions, keep their details up to date, and consider whether they are saving enough for later life. Its 2026 theme, “Grow Your Pension”, reinforces the value of time, care and regular attention in building retirement savings.
Evidence shows why this matters. Research released alongside the 2026 campaign found that:
- 52% of UK adults have never checked their pension balance.
- 33% do not know how much is in their pension pot.
- 37% do not understand how their pension grows over time.
- 36% think they may have pensions from previous jobs that they have never traced.
- 29% have no idea how much they will need for retirement.
Separate research published by the Pensions Policy Institute for National Pension Tracing Day in October 2024 estimated that 3.3 million lost pension pots contained £31.1 billion in assets. The average lost pot was worth £9,470.
I believe these figures should lead the pensions industry to look beyond awareness alone. They reflect practical barriers to finding, understanding and acting on pension information.
The question shouldn’t simply be: why are people failing to pay attention?
It should also be: what can we do to make their attention worthwhile?
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Participation was the first step
Automatic enrolment has transformed workplace pension participation by bringing millions more people into retirement saving. That is a major achievement, but enrolment and engagement are not the same.
Someone can remain in a pension scheme for years without checking their balance, understanding what income it might provide or knowing whether their contributions are likely to support the retirement they expect. The Pension Attention findings show that these gaps persist.
In my view, the next stage of progress must help members move from passive participation towards informed involvement.
Membership numbers remain important, but we should also consider whether people understand their pension, recognise its value and can identify an appropriate next step.
Participation creates pension savings. Engagement helps people make informed decisions about them.
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Start with what matters to younger savers
It’s easy to assume that younger people aren’t interested in pensions because retirement feels too far away, yet I believe that explanation risks overlooking how the subject is presented.
Retirement may not feel urgent to someone at the start of their career, but future security, independence and choice are much more immediate and relatable.
The industry should connect pension saving to what it may help make possible – starting earlier gives contributions more time to grow and may also provide greater choice later in life.
However, this message shouldn’t be framed as a choice between enjoying life today and preparing for tomorrow. Communications that focus on giving up small everyday pleasures can make saving sound like punishment. That’s unlikely to encourage younger savers to engage.
A more constructive message is that taking an affordable step now can help create greater freedom in the future.
We must also recognise how people experience other financial services. If accessing pension information involves unfamiliar terminology, fragmented communications or unnecessary administrative effort, we make an already distant subject harder to approach.
Simplification is not about removing important detail. It’s about presenting information in a way that allows people to understand and use it.
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Make workplace pension value visible
We also need to make the value of workplace pension saving easier to see and understand.
Eligible employees in a qualifying workplace scheme benefit from employer contributions, while tax relief also supports pension saving under the applicable arrangements. Yet contribution percentages alone may not show the full value being added to someone’s pension.
Members should be able to see:
- What they are contributing.
- What their employer is contributing.
- How their savings have developed.
- What their pension is currently projected to provide.
- What changing their contribution could mean for their future outcome.
This is particularly important when someone is considering opting out. The decision is not limited to stopping a personal contribution. It may also mean losing access to the employer contribution available through the scheme.
Schemes, providers and employers can make this more tangible through plain-English explanations, personalised information and clear illustrations of the combined contribution.
A relevant example can be far more powerful than another generic reminder that pensions matter.
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Turn awareness into an ongoing relationship
An awareness campaign can prompt someone to log in, locate an old pension or review a statement. What happens next depends on the experience they encounter.
Can the member see their balance easily? Is the employer contribution clear? Do they understand their projected benefits? Are their options presented in plain English? Is there an obvious next step?
These are not cosmetic considerations. They can influence whether a brief moment of interest develops into greater understanding or ends in frustration.
Pensions UK describes the purpose of Pension Attention as making pensions more visible, relatable and easier to understand. It also identifies pensions dashboards as an important development in helping people find and understand their pensions.
Campaign activity and digital services need to work together. If we raise awareness without improving the experience behind it, we risk directing people back towards the same barriers that contributed to disengagement.
A useful member experience should provide:
- Clarity: What have I saved?
- Context: What could this mean for my future?
- Value: What is my employer contributing?
- Direction: What could I consider doing next?
- Continuity: Why should I return and check again?
Engagement should not be treated as an end in itself. Portal visits and opened communications may indicate interest, but the real objective is better understanding and more informed decision-making.
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The role of digital pension administration providers
If we’re serious about improving pension engagement, we must recognise that the member experience is increasingly shaped by technology.
Digital pension administration providers have an important role to play because they help turn complex pension processes into experiences that are accessible, intuitive and easier to navigate. As expectations rise around transparency and self-service, members increasingly expect the same simplicity they experience elsewhere in their financial lives.
This is why digital transformation should be viewed as more than a technology or efficiency programme: it’s an engagement programme.
When information is fragmented, difficult to access or reliant on manual processes, engagement suffers. When members can find information easily, understand their position and take action, they are more likely to make informed decisions about their future.
Technology alone can’t create engagement. But it can remove barriers, reduce friction and make it easier for members to interact with their pension when their attention has been captured.
For pension schemes, embracing a digital transformation journey is becoming increasingly important. Initiatives such as Pension Attention and the forthcoming pensions dashboards are raising expectations around accessibility, transparency and self-service.
Ultimately, digital transformation should not be measured by system functionality alone. Its value lies in helping members understand their pensions, feel more confident in their savings and take meaningful action when it matters most.
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Making every moment of attention count
National Pension Awareness Day and the Pay Your Pension Some Attention campaign matter because they highlight a reality the industry cannot ignore: too many people remain disconnected from their retirement savings.
But they also remind us how the challenge has changed.
Automatic enrolment has done an excellent job of increasing participation. The next phase of progress isn’t about getting more people into schemes. It’s about helping them understand, value and engage with the savings they already have.
That responsibility belongs to all of us. Pension schemes, insurers, employers, administrators and technology providers all shape the member experience. Every communication, interaction and digital journey can build confidence, understanding and trust.
For me, the real test is simple: does a member understand their position, recognise the value of their pension and feel confident enough to take the next step?
If the answer is yes, we’re doing far more than improving engagement metrics. We’re helping people make better decisions and build better retirement outcomes.
That is why awareness campaigns remain so important. But awareness is only the starting point. Our collective challenge is to turn attention into understanding, understanding into action and action into better outcomes.
Because ultimately, it’s not about getting people to pay their pension some attention for a day. It’s about helping them build a lasting connection with one of the most important financial assets they’ll ever own.
If Pension Awareness encourages someone to spend two minutes checking their pension, our job is to make those two minutes count.
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