Most people have no idea how their pension is actually performing. Many people join a new pension scheme and then leave their pension invested in the scheme's 'default' fund without checking whether they're getting good value for money, but you could end up thousands of pounds better off by switching to a better-performing fund. That's why we created this tool - so you can check how your current fund is performing and whether you could make better returns elsewhere.
All fund size data as of 15/07/15, All returns as of end 06/25. Calculation of risk ratings involves 5 year annualised volatility data converted to standard SRRI risk scale (1-7), then converted to a Low, Low-Medium, Medium, Medium-High, High scale; such that Low - 1,2, Low-Medium - 3, Medium - 4, Medium-High - 5, High - 6,7.
When you put money into a pension, it is invested into the stock market and other vehicles to help the money grow over time. While the stock market can go up and down, it has historically risen over time.
For example, the FTSE 100 – a stock market index of the 100 biggest listed companies in the UK – has returned an average of 8.6% over the past decade, according to Raconteur.
That’s almost twice as much as even the top savings accounts on the market today.
Your money is usually invested in a ‘default fund’, which are funds specially designed to help your money grow over time and then it is moved into ‘safer’ assets closer to retirement.
However, you can usually choose to move your money into a different fund if you want to.
While investments generally grow over time, the amount they grow by depends on what you are invested in.
Some pension funds have performed much better than others. Default funds typically perform worse than other funds that you may be able to pick, data suggests.
You can also open what are known as ‘Self Invested Personal Pensions’ (SIPPs), which are a type of personal private pension where you can pick your own investments. Your money could potentially grow faster in these accounts because you can access a much wider range of investments.
If your investment performs poorly, it impacts the amount of money you have to spend in retirement. Conversely, if your pension fund performs particularly well, it can significantly boost your retirement fund.
That’s why we created our pension checker (above) – so you can compare how your fund is performing against others and see whether you should switch.
The best performing workplace funds are Standard Life Aviva Property Pn S3 and S4 funds, with five-year returns of over 3,100%, and the Aegon/Scottish Life Equitable Technology Pn, with a five-year return of 149.24%.
Those funds’ returns are considerably better than the workplace pension provider average of 31.95% over the past five years.
If you had a pension worth £500,000 and it increased by 3,100% over a five-year period, your pot would be worth a whopping £16 million at the end. If it increased by 31.95% over that time, it would be worth £659,750 at the end.
This does not account for fees and charges, which would reduce the amount in your pot.
Getting on top of your pension investments is one thing – but what if you aren’t even sure how to find your pensions?
Nowadays, many workers have multiple jobs throughout their career, and it’s easy to lose track of all of your pots.
Check if you have any old paperwork relating to your pensions. This paperwork will be from a workplace pension provider.
Look for company names including Hargreaves Lansdown, Scottish Widows, Fidelity, Royal London, Aegon and Legal and General. The paperwork should include some kind of client number to help the company find your pension.
Try calling the company and asking for help accessing your pension. If you don’t know your pension provider, you can try asking the HR department at any of your old employers who your company pension is with.
There are a range of tools to trace your old pensions if you aren’t sure how to find them. We have partnered with Gretel, a pension tracing service, to help you find them. This service is completely free to use and you only need your name and address.
Information about where your pensions are invested should be in annual paperwork from your pension provider, or in your online account relating to your pension.
If you don’t get any paperwork from your pension firm, such as if you’ve moved house and not updated your address, you may need to contact the firm and update your records, or open an online account to check there.
You will be able to view the name of the fund or funds you are invested in, and you should be able to check your pension fund’s performance dating back to when you joined the scheme.
Once you’ve found your pensions and have checked your investment performance, check whether there are other funds that you are able to switch to that have performed better.
Remember, past performance is not an indicator of future returns, but having all of the information can help you make an informed decision.
If you do want to change your investment options, you may be able to do so yourself in your online accounts, or otherwise contact your pension provider and ask for help switching.
You could also consider consolidating your old pensions into one place and putting the money into a SIPP if you want to manage your own investments. View our top picks for SIPPs here.
We have compared SIPP vs workplace fund performance, too. You can read about that here.
