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Spotlight Over the past decade, workplace pension participation has risen sharply, bringing millions more people into pension saving.
More people saving is a positive sign, but participation alone doesn’t tell us whether they are on track for retirement. We also need to look at how much people have saved, how pension wealth changes with age, and how many people are already drawing a pension.
We’ve brought together the latest UK pension statistics, using data from the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) and the Office for National Statistics (ONS). Where official datasets cover Great Britain rather than the whole UK, we’ve made that distinction clear.
Let’s take a closer look at what the figures tell us about pensions across the UK.
Pension statistics (UK) at a glance
- 24.2 million employees in Great Britain were saving into a workplace pension in 2025. (DWP)
- 82% of all employees were participating in a workplace pension in 2025. (DWP)
- Among employees eligible for automatic enrolment, workplace pension participation reached 90% in 2025. (DWP)
- Eligible employees and their employers saved a combined £166.1 billion into workplace pensions in 2025. (DWP)
- Median individual private pension wealth was £57,500 among adults with some private pension wealth between April 2020 and March 2022. (ONS)
- Across all adults, including those with no private pension wealth, the median was £19,700. (ONS)
- 75% of people aged 40 to 75 had a private pension in 2024. (DWP)
- 13.2 million people were receiving the State Pension in August 2025. (DWP)
- 41% of people aged 40 to 75 said they had no idea how much income they would need in retirement. (DWP)
- Only 46% of private pension holders aged 40 to 75 had reviewed the value of their pension within the previous 12 months. (DWP)
What is the average UK pension pot?
We don’t have a single figure that neatly represents the average UK pension pot, largely because pension wealth can take different forms. A defined contribution pension scheme (DC) builds up a fund through contributions and investment returns, whereas a defined benefit scheme (DB) promises an income based on the rules of the scheme.
The ONS gets around this complexity by focusing on private pension wealth and excluding State Pension entitlements, covering:
- Occupational pensions
- Personal pensions
- Retained pension rights
- Pensions already in payment
What is the median pension pot in the UK?
According to the latest ONS Wealth and Assets Survey, the clearest official benchmarks for median pension pots are:
- Median individual private pension wealth was £57,500 among adults with some private pension wealth between April 2020 and March 2022.
- Across all adults, including those with no private pension wealth, the median was £19,700.
The median is generally more useful than the mean here because pension wealth is skewed. A relatively small number of people with very large pension holdings can pull the average upwards.
For a representative view of the average UK private pension, the median figure of £57,500 is the most useful benchmark. This reflects private pension wealth among adults who have some pension savings.
How recent is the pension wealth data?
The latest ONS figures on private pension wealth cover April 2020 to March 2022. That may sound dated, but pension wealth isn’t measured every year.
For now, this is still the most recent official data available, while newer DWP figures cover things like workplace pension participation and State Pension recipients.
What is the average UK pension pot at 60?
According to the ONS, among people aged 55 to 64 with some private pension wealth:
These figures are based on data collected between April 2018 and March 2020. Of the two, the median provides the more useful benchmark, as it is less influenced by a smaller number of people with very large pension holdings.
These figures cover total private pension wealth, rather than the value of a single pension pot. That means it can also include DB pension rights and DC savings.
Pension wealth at this age may already be moving from accumulation into drawdown. In 2024, 23% of people aged 60 to 64 described themselves as fully retired, while a further 21% were semi-retired.
Pension savings by age group in the UK
Looking at the average pension pot by age in the UK gives a much more useful picture than comparing everyone against a single national figure. Pension wealth generally increases with age as people have more time to contribute and benefit from investment growth.
Below is the latest comparable ONS age breakdown using its updated methodology.
| Age | Median private pension wealth | Mean private pension wealth |
| 16 to 24 | £3,000 | £12,200 |
| 25 to 34 | £10,500 | £28,200 |
| 35 to 44 | £31,400 | £69,900 |
| 45 to 54 | £72,900 | £141,100 |
| 55 to 64 | £133,800 | £224,900 |
| 65 to 74 | £120,800 | £213,700 |
| 75 to 84 | £62,700 | £110,500 |
| 85+ | £31,900 | £53,900 |
Source: ONS, Wealth and Assets Survey. Figures relate to Great Britain, April 2018 to March 2020, using the updated pension methodology.
The figures cover people with some private pension wealth and are based on data collected between 2018 and 2020.
They show why age is such a big factor when assessing the average pension pot in the UK. Comparing a saver in their 20s with someone approaching retirement won’t tell us much about whether either person is adequately prepared.
The table also demonstrates why median figures are often more revealing than mean averages. Taking the 55 to 64-year-old group as an example, we see the mean of £224,900 is around £91,000 higher than the £133,800 median.
How does pension participation change with age?
Looking at pension participation offers a more up-to-date view of how people are saving today. DWP research published in Planning and Preparing for Later Life 2024 also shows a clear generational shift in the types of pensions people hold. Among private pension holders:
- 80% of 40 to 44-year-olds had a DC pension, compared with 59% of people aged 70 to 75.
- 27% of 40 to 44-year-olds had a DB pension, compared with 56% of people aged 70 to 75.
This reflects a broader generational shift in pension provision, with younger people increasingly more likely to hold a defined contribution scheme than a defined benefit pension.
How many people have a private pension in the UK?
Private pension ownership is widespread, particularly among people approaching retirement. According to the DWP’s Planning and Preparing for Later Life 2024 research:
- 75% of people aged 40 to 75 had a private pension in 2024.
- Among private pension holders aged 40 to 75, 72% had a DC pension.
- Private pension ownership was less common among lower-income households, self-employed individuals, and renters.
- Among people without a private pension, 54% said affordability was one reason they did not have one.
Having a pension and actively contributing to one are also different measures. Among people aged 40 to 75 with a pension who had not yet retired, fewer than half (46%) were actively saving into a pension.
How many people are saving into a workplace pension scheme?
Automatic enrolment has helped workplace pension participation become the norm for UK employees. The DWP’s latest workplace pension statistics show that in 2025:
- 24.2 million employees in Great Britain were saving into a workplace schemes, representing 82% of all employees.
- 22.6 million employees eligible for automatic enrolment were saving into a pension.
- Participation among eligible employees reached 90%.
- The number of employees saving increased by approximately 600,000 between 2024 and 2025.
While participation has stabilised at a high level across much of the workforce, gaps remain. For example, only around 55% of eligible employees working for private-sector micro employers with fewer than five employees were saving into a workplace pension.
How much is being saved into UK pensions?
Getting employees enrolled is one thing; building sufficient retirement savings is another. According to the DWP, total annual workplace pension saving among eligible employees reached £166.1 billion in 2025. This was £63.5 billion higher in real terms than in 2012, measured in 2025 earnings terms.
Of the amount saved in 2025:
- 61% came from employer contributions.
- 27% came from employee contributions.
- 12% came from income tax relief on employee contributions.
Employer contributions account for the largest share of workplace pension saving, underlining their importance to the value members build over time.
How many pensioners are there in the UK?
Although we don’t have a definitive figure for the number of pensioners in the UK, the number of people receiving the State Pension gives us a useful benchmark for the population at or above State Pension age.
DWP figures for August 2025 show that:
- 13.212 million people were receiving the State Pension in Great Britain.
- This was 243,000 more than in August 2024.
- 13.4 million people of State Pension age were receiving at least one DWP benefit.
Are people well prepared for retirement?
High pension participation is encouraging, but participation does not always translate into retirement preparedness. The DWP’s Planning and Preparing for Later Life research provides a mixed picture.
- 41% of people aged 40 to 75 said they had no idea how much income they would need in retirement.
- Only 17% said they had a very good idea of how much retirement income they would need.
- Just 46% of private pension holders aged 40 to 75 had reviewed the value of their pension during the previous 12 months.
- 24% of private pension holders aged 40 to 75 found keeping track of their pensions fairly or very difficult.
- Only 14% of people aged 40 to 75 were classified as “Secure and Confident” in their preparation for retirement.
- At the other end of the scale, 16% were classified as “Unprepared and financially vulnerable”.
This points to an important distinction: getting people into pensions does not automatically mean they understand what they have, what it could provide, or whether it will be enough.
Engage your members with their pension
More people are saving into pensions, but that does not always mean they understand what they have or what it could provide in retirement. This makes member engagement increasingly important as schemes look for better ways to help members understand and interact with their pension.
As DC pensions become more common and members build up multiple pension arrangements, pension dashboards, clear information, and effective administration become increasingly important.
Mantle brings pension administration and actuarial functions together through a connected platform, helping schemes manage data, calculations, and member services in one place.
If you’d like to make pension information easier to manage and more accessible to your members, get in touch with the team at Mantle. Start a conversation with our experts today.
