Overview
- Analysis finds the average person in the UK pays about £39 each month for direct debits they no longer use, such as streaming services, gym memberships and old insurance policies.
- Standard Life’s example shows a 22-year-old on £25,000 paying minimum auto-enrolment contributions could see a projected pot rise from £210,000 to £247,000 by diverting £39 a month.
- Directing roughly £78 a month from cancelled payments into a pension could add about £73,000 over a working life in the same scenario.
- Retirement savings director Mike Ambery advises checking terms before cancelling to avoid penalties or credit-score issues and highlights the scope to use annual allowances up to £60,000 and carry forward unused amounts.
- Reporting also points to around three million unclaimed pension pots holding an estimated £31bn and cites a Pensions UK survey indicating more people are actively managing their pensions.