pensions: what to do if you haven't got one

According to the Pension Policy Institute, not enough people are saving enough money to comfortably retire. It's something we're familiar with here at caba, with lots of people coming to us for advice on managing their debts and finances overall during retirement. 

Not having access to a company pension or being unsure about which pension package to invest in, as well as simply not having enough money to set aside each month, are among some of the reasons why people retire without the comfort of having a pension pot behind them. 

Other reasons for not having a pension include: 

• being self-employed or unemployed 
• living on a reduced income (working part-time) 
• experiencing health issues that prevent you from working and/or preparing for retirement 
• requiring care or are caring for someone else 
• supporting dependent children in later life 

how much do you need to save for a pension? 

what should you do if you haven’t got a pension?  

If you’re approaching retirement age and are worried about your financial situation, there are several steps you can take, including these three:  

review your situation 

It’s important you acknowledge that your situation is going to change. At the same time, it’s equally important you use the time leading up to your retirement to examine the impact it will have on you financially. 

If you haven’t paid the required amount of National Insurance contributions to receive a full State Pension, you may receive a reduced pension amount. If you are unsure whether you have sufficient National Insurance contributions, we would recommend that you contact the Pension Service for a State Pension forecast. After you have done this, you may want to use our benefits calculator to check whether you could be entitled to receive and identify any additional benefits, such as Pension Credit to top up your income, or Housing Benefit to help with your rent.

reduce your outgoings 

Living on less money inevitably means you will have to review your lifestyle. Even small savings in your expenditure will contribute to an overall reduction in outgoings. We have some great budgeting tools to help you get into sensible spending habits and manage your money more wisely.

continue to work 

More people than ever are choosing to work instead of retiring, with the number of working people aged between 60 to 75 having increased by more than 7% since 2001. Indeed, 28% of the UK working population are currently aged 50 or over. According to Government figures, the average age of the UK labour market exit has increased over the past two decades. In 2000, the average age of exit for men was 63.3-years-old, increasing to 65.2-years-old in 2020, an increase of 1.9 years. During the same time period, in 2000, the average age of exit for women was 61.2-years-old, increasing to 64.3-years-old in 2020, an increase of 3.1 years. 

The advantage of delaying taking your pension is that the longer you delay, the more your state pension will be worth when you do take it. According to The Money Advice Service, for every nine weeks that you defer taking your state pension, it increases by 1%. So if you defer by a year, you’ll boost your pension by 5.8%.  

how we can help 

We're here to support ACA students, existing or former ICAEW members or their close family dependents. Whatever your financial worries, big or small, you’re not alone.

If you need help to pay for essential living expenses such as mortgage or rental payments and even ICAEW membership fees, we may be able to assist. Read more about the financial support we offer to help you manage the increasing cost of living.

As an independent charity, we don’t disclose any of the information you share with us to the ICAEW or your employer. 

Get in touch today to see how we can help you.