Overview
- HM Revenue and Customs published survey results ahead of Pension Awareness Week (15–18 Sept) showing 12.5% of UK adults, about 6.9 million people, have never checked their State Pension forecast.
- People aged 45 to 54 are the group most likely not to have checked, putting them at a key planning stage when there is still time to act to protect future entitlement.
- HMRC is promoting its free app and the gov.uk Tax Confident pages as quick ways to view a State Pension forecast, inspect National Insurance records and, where eligible, make voluntary contributions.
- Financial advisers note that the full new State Pension normally needs about 35 qualifying years and that gaps can usually be filled only for the previous six tax years, which makes earlier checks time-sensitive.
- Common reasons for not checking include thinking retirement is too distant, losing track of past pension pots and concerns over career breaks, and HMRC says a simple app check can help people spot problems before they become hard to fix.