This will help give you a better picture of your potential retirement savings, so you can make more informed decisions on when and how to withdraw your money.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the main sources of income you might have or be eligible for at retirement.
Workplace or personal pensions
You’re likely to have one or more workplace pensions by the time you reach retirement. Auto-enrolment legislation has been in place since 2012. This means employers automatically enrol eligible employees into a workplace pension. You’re eligible if you earn more than £10,000 a year, are aged between 22 and the state pension age, and work (or ordinarily work) in the UK.
You may also have one or more personal pension pots that you have set up yourself, with or without help from a financial adviser.
Everyone can have a mix of both personal and workplace pension pots.
How to find your pension pots
If you think you may have lost track of some of your pension pots or aren’t sure how to start to find them, follow these steps:
1. Check through all your paperwork and emails
First, check for any paperwork you may have. You may also have email correspondence that could indicate a pension with a specific provider.
If you need to update providers with your new address or personal details, you could phone or write to them. This gives you an opportunity to ask for an update of your current pension pot value. MoneyHelper has a helpful letter template you could use to contact your provider.
2. Contact your old employers
If you can’t find any paperwork or think you’re still missing some older workplace pensions, try contacting your old employers. They should be able to give you details of what provider your pension is with. In some cases, they may even have details of your specific policy information.
3. Use the Pension Tracing Service
If you’re still unsure – for example if an old employer no longer exists or you’re trying to trace a personal pension – don’t give up. The government’s free Pension Tracing Service can help you search for your missing pension pots.
How much have you saved?
Once you’ve found all the details of your pension pots, you can begin to work out how much money you’ve saved.
If you activate online accounts with your pension provider(s), you’ll be able to view the current value of your pension. If you don’t have an online account, you can call or write to your provider to help you with this.
Note that the value of your pension pot can fall as well as rise and isn’t guaranteed. The value of your pot when you come to take benefits may be less than you have paid in. So, while the current figure can give you an idea of your savings, this could fluctuate before you come to access them.
Depending on how you wish to take benefits from your pension, you may need to request a final valuation summary from your provider.
Options for taking benefits are covered in the ‘Taking your pension benefits - your options’ section of this guide.
How is my State Pension calculated?
Your State Pension is based on how many qualifying years of National Insurance contributions you have, including National Insurance credits. National Insurance credits are deducted from your earnings once you earn above a certain level in a week.
If you entered the National Insurance contributions system after April 2016, you’ll need 35 qualifying years to get the full new State Pension, and at least 10 years National Insurance contributions to qualify for a reduced State Pension.
Check what State Pension you’re entitled to and when you’ll get it.
Find out more about when and how you can access your State pension.
Other income or savings
Outside of your pension savings and State Pension entitlements, think about any other income or savings you’re likely to have at retirement. For example, if you have money saved in an ISA, or any investments such as stocks or bonds. Are you likely to receive any significant inheritance, or receive any income from renting a property? All of these savings add up and can help boost your retirement pot, so it’s important to include these when considering what income you’ll have at retirement.
Remember, if you have investments, the value of an investment can fall as well as rise and isn’t guaranteed. You may get back less than you invested.