Investment platform AJ Bell has urged workplace pension savers to check whether their employer will match extra contributions, warning on 28 October 2026 that millions could be missing out on what amounts to free money. The advice follows an interim report by the Pensions Commission in May which found that around 15 million people in Britain are not putting aside enough for retirement.
The intervention,
For a liberal readership, the pension question is not merely one of personal finance. It touches on the adequacy of social infrastructure, the design of auto-enrolment, and the state's obligation to ensure that market-based retirement saving actually delivers on its promise.
What AJ Bell advised savers to do
Under auto-enrolment rules, workers typically contribute a minimum of 5% of salary, with employers paying at least 3%. AJ Bell said many employers offer matching contributions beyond the statutory floor, and that savers who overlook this are effectively declining a pay rise.
"If you're putting money into a workplace pension, and only making the typical minimum 5% contribution under auto-enrolment rules, it's worth checking with your employer if they will match any extra money that you pay in, up to a certain level," the firm said.
"Many employers do offer some kind of matching alongside the typical minimum 3% contribution, and you could be missing out on extra 'free money' if you overlook it."
Sarah Coles, head of personal finance at AJ Bell, acknowledged the psychological weight of the issue. Pensions, she said, are easy to be frightened of, with alarming figures about people falling short of retirement goals, billions withdrawn on the back of rumours, and millions unable to work long enough to make up the shortfall.
"However, opening your eyes to the risks is the first step to changing your future. If you face your demons, you can radically improve your pension prospects with some simple steps, so there's nothing to fear from your retirement finances."
Where an employer offers nothing extra, AJ Bell suggested considering a self-invested personal pension, or SIPP, which offers wider investment choice and can be accessed from age 55, rising to 57 in 2028. It also recommended committing to raise contributions with each pay rise, and directing one-off lump sums such as bonuses or Premium Bond wins into the pot.
The scale of undersaving
The Pensions Commission's interim report, published in May, put the number of undersavers at roughly 15 million, a figure that should concentrate minds in Westminster. The report is the most systematic attempt yet to quantify the gap between what Britons save and what they will need.
The problem is compounded by forgotten savings. The Pensions Policy Institute estimates there are around 3 million dormant pension pots gathering dust, worth £6,220 on average. The government's Pension Tracing Service can help locate missing pensions, though AJ Bell cautioned savers to check for valuable benefits or exit charges before transferring old pots.
The stakes are especially high for older workers. Birmingham Live reported that workers aged 55 to 64 risk missing out on employer contributions and valuable tax relief precisely at the peak of their earnings, a group facing what one expert called a significant savings warning.
There is also a behavioural dimension. As AOL reported, young workers who opt out of workplace pensions risk forgoing employer contributions that amount, in effect, to free money, a trend one expert described as dangerous.
How to work out where you stand
AJ Bell's advice is methodical rather than dramatic. First, gather your pensions, including any forgotten pots. Second, use a pension calculator to input your saving so far, your monthly payments and your planned retirement date, which will show the pot you are on track to build and the income you can expect.
The firm identified three levers: how much you pay in, how long you pay in for, and how you invest. Most savers never make an active investment choice and remain in their scheme's default fund, which may suit the average person but leaves little room for tailoring.
"In a workplace pension you're likely to have limited choices, but in a SIPP there's a huge opportunity to tailor your own portfolio to your long-term plans and objectives," AJ Bell said.
On tax-free cash, the firm was clear that taking it is legitimate provided it is factored into plans from the outset. The danger lies in treating the sum as separate from the retirement pot that must produce an income for decades.
Planning income in retirement
Drawdown offers flexibility over how much to withdraw and when, keeps the remaining pot invested, and allows unused savings to pass to family on death. An annuity, by contrast, guarantees income for life regardless of longevity, but removes flexibility and requires careful attention to inflation over a long retirement.
Many savers, AJ Bell noted, combine the two, either simultaneously or at different stages of life. The essential point is that these are choices, and choices require information.
A question of policy, not just prudence
It would be convenient to frame this as a matter of individual responsibility, and no doubt savers should take the simple steps AJ Bell outlines. But a system in which 15 million people undersave is not a system working as intended. Auto-enrolment was a liberal reform in the best sense: a nudge that harnesses inertia for the individual's benefit. Its minimum contribution levels, however, were always a floor rather than a ceiling, and too many workers treat them as a destination.
The policy conversation now must address whether contribution rates should rise over time, how dormant pots can be consolidated automatically, and whether the state can do more to ensure that employer matching, where offered, is understood and used. Informed citizens making active choices are the foundation of any liberal economy; a retirement system that relies on people not looking too closely at their pensions does not meet that standard.
The Pensions Commission's final report, when it comes, will tell us whether the government intends to treat retirement saving as a priority or leave millions to discover the shortfall too late to repair it.