Six figures, each sourced and linked in the methodology below, that describe where the country actually stands on pension savings in 2026. None of them are reassuring on their own. Read them together and the picture sharpens.
£145,900
Median private pension wealth for UK adults aged 65 to 74, among those with a pension pot. ONS Wealth and Assets Survey, Round 8.
35%
Gender pension gap in private pension wealth. Women in their 50s hold pots roughly a third smaller than men of the same age.
67%
Of UK adults do not check their pension annually, only around a third do. The pension is the largest single financial asset for most households.
Difference between the average pension pot in the South East and in Northern Ireland, the highest- and lowest-scoring UK regions.
£137,800
Median private pension wealth for UK adults aged 55 to 64. The number to plan against, not a mean pulled up by a small number of very large pots.
£31.1bn
Estimated value of lost and unclaimed pension pots in the UK. Forgotten workplace schemes are the largest single leakage in retirement saving.
Median private pension wealth rises steeply through people's 30s, 40s and 50s, then levels off after 65. For those aged 35 to 44, the median pot is £39,500. By 45 to 54, it is £80,000. By 55 to 64, it reaches £137,800. By 65 to 74, it is £145,900. These figures cover people who have some pension savings; anyone with no pension pot at all is excluded, so the median for the whole population, savers and non-savers together, is lower.
Source: ONS, Wealth and Assets Survey Round 8, Pension wealth: wealth in Great Britain, April 2020 to March 2022, published January 2025
A £137,800 pot, the median for someone aged 55 to 64, drawn down at the standard 4% rate, produces around £5,500 a year in retirement. Adding the £12,548 full new State Pension (2026/27 rate) brings the typical retirement income to roughly £18,000 a year. For most households, that is well below what they were earning before retirement, and well below the income most people say they need.
Where you live in the UK still shapes what you save. Savers in the South East hold average pension pots roughly 1.8 times the size of those in Northern Ireland, the lowest-scoring UK nation. The difference reflects regional pay, employer contribution rates, and how long people have been saving into a workplace pension.
| Region | Average Pot (All Ages) | Note |
|---|---|---|
| South East | £27,727 | Highest average in the UK |
| London | £25,838 | Above UK average |
| South West | £21,344 | Close to UK average |
| UK Average | £21,875 | Reference point (all ages) |
| East Midlands | £19,476 | Below UK average |
| West Midlands | £19,321 | Below UK average |
| Scotland | £19,113 | Below UK average |
| North East & Yorkshire | £17,957 | Below UK average |
| Wales | £17,435 | Below UK average |
| North West | £17,082 | Below UK average |
| Northern Ireland | £15,118 | Lowest average in the UK |
Northern Ireland has the lowest average pot, at £15,118, well below the £21,875 UK average. The North West, Wales and the North East and Yorkshire region are also below the UK average, reflecting historic industry composition and lower average pay.
Source: PensionBee, Pension Landscape 2025, published 10 September 2025
Women in their 50s and 60s hold private pension wealth around 35% lower than men of the same age. It is not one cause. It is a lifetime of compounding career breaks, part-time work patterns, the gender pay gap, and auto-enrolment contributions tied to lower earnings. Read together, they become the number below.
35%
Gender pension gap in private pension wealth
A separate, independently-run study finds a similar picture in pot sizes directly: Scottish Widows' 2025 research puts the median private pension at retirement at £173,000 for women against £286,000 for men, a gap of £113,000 (32%), which translates to thousands of pounds less annual income in retirement.
The gap is widest in the 50 to 65 age group. For women under 40, the picture is improving as auto-enrolment builds contributions from earlier in their careers, but the lifetime cost of career breaks still compounds across decades.
Source: Pensions Policy Institute, The Underpensioned: Defining the Gender Pension Gap, February 2024
£113k
Gap between women's and men's median private pension pot at retirement (Scottish Widows, 2025)
3x
Women are more than three times as likely as men to work part-time, reducing pension contributions
12x
Women are twelve times more likely than men to take a career break for childcare (36% vs 3%)
Sources: Standard Life; Scottish Widows, Women and Retirement Report 2025, via DIY Investor
Around two-thirds of UK adults do not check their pension in any given year. The pension is the largest single financial asset for most UK households, and it receives the least active attention. The reasons are not laziness. They are the same reasons that show up in every other corner of personal finance: complexity, anxiety, distance, inertia.
67%
Of UK working-age adults do not review their pension statement in any given year. Their pot grows, or shrinks, without their awareness.
33%
Of UK adults, roughly one in three, actively review their pension at least once per year. This group is more likely to make additional contributions and consolidation decisions.
Source: Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), 2024; Delphina UK Parents Financial Worries, 2026
Reading the numbers is the start. The action is short, specific, and doable before the end of the month.
Step 1
Log into gov.uk and check your State Pension forecast. Note the weekly amount and the date it becomes payable. It is the floor of your retirement income and the figure every other planning number sits on top of.
Step 2
Workplace pensions from previous jobs, personal pensions, any SIPP. Use the Pension Tracing Service to track down old pots. The £31.1 billion in lost pensions exists because people do not do this one task.
Step 3
For ages 35 to 44 the median UK pot is £39,500. For 45 to 54 it is £80,000. For 55 to 64 it is £137,800. For 65 to 74 it is £145,900. Find your total and see where you sit. Above the median is a different conversation from below it.
UK Pension Pot Statistics 2026. Delphina. www.delphina.money/stats/pension-pots. Compiled by Syd Lawrence, founder of Delphina.
UK Pension Pot Statistics 2026. Delphina. www.delphina.money/stats/pension-pots
Sources: ONS Wealth and Assets Survey Round 8, pension wealth (published January 2025); PensionBee Pension Landscape 2025; Pensions Policy Institute, The Underpensioned (February 2024) and Lost Pensions 2024 (October 2024); Scottish Widows Women and Retirement Report 2025; Standard Life; Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), 2024; DWP Benefit and pension rates 2026 to 2027; Delphina UK Parents Financial Worries 2026.
Compiled by Syd Lawrence, founder of Delphina. Last updated 1 August 2026.