Beyond automatic enrolment: the challenge of deeper pensions engagement

id

Automatic enrolment has transformed pension saving in the UK. Since its introduction, millions more people are now saving into a workplace pension, making it one of the most successful policy interventions of recent decades.

But while participation is higher, engagement with pensions remains mixed. Various studies show that many people remain passive participants rather than active retirement planners. 

Retirement Voice 2026 explores some of the fundamental barriers people face in engaging with their pension and retirement planning and considers how this might shape the industry from a policy perspective.

Why aren’t people saving more for retirement?

We know that many people are not saving enough to achieve the retirement they would hope for, and deeper engagement can often lead to more positive retirement outcomes. However, Retirement Voice 2026 suggests many people are not actively planning for retirement. Only one in five people say they have done a great deal of planning for how much income they would like in retirement, while almost three in ten have done no planning at all.

One reason engagement remains low is that many households are balancing more immediate financial concerns – such as housing costs, household bills and family spending. "For example, when it comes to financial priorities, managing day-to-day finances is most commonly cited; over four in ten (42%) highlighted this as a top financial priority." In contrast, pension saving ranks much lower down the list – just 12% say pension saving is one of their main financial priorities, a decline from the previous year.

Challenges around affordability also emerge when we explored why people who worried they aren’t saving enough for retirement aren’t saving more. The most common barriers cited are financial, including the cost of living being too high, not earning enough, and prioritising more immediate financial needs. All of these factors are cited more frequently among groups identified by the Pensions Commission as being at greater risk of undersaving, such as women and lower earners.

How big a challenge is ‘mental load’?

Alongside financial barriers, the challenge of ‘mental load’ can also play a role. When asked directly, one in five agree they feel ‘too busy’ to plan for their finances in the future, a figure that is higher amongst younger people and those with children.

Among those who feel busy, work responsibilities are the most commonly cited reason, alongside family and household commitments, managing day-to-day finances and caring responsibilities. These findings are particularly striking for parents. Adults with children under 18 are almost twice as likely as other adults to say they are too busy to plan financially for the future. Women are also more likely than men to cite practical pressures such as managing household finances, family responsibilities and caring for children as barriers to planning.

The findings highlight how retirement planning competes not only with other financial priorities but also for people's limited time, attention and headspace. In a world characterised by busy working lives and a constant stream of responsibilities and distractions, long-term financial planning can easily be pushed down the agenda.

Looking ahead: Understanding real-world constraints

Automatic enrolment has successfully increased participation in the pensions system. Yet as Retirement Voice 2026 shows, significant barriers remain when it comes to building deeper engagement with pensions and retirement planning.

Our findings suggest that barriers to engagement often extend beyond knowledge and awareness. Affordability pressures, competing financial priorities and day-to-day responsibilities can pose limitations to long-term financial planning. Understanding these real-world constraints will be an important consideration as policy makers, industry and employers continue to explore ways to improve retirement outcomes.

At the Standard Life Centre for the Future of Retirement, engagement is becoming an increasingly important area of focus. While ensuring people save for retirement remains a key objective, there is also a growing need to understand how people make decisions about later life, the barriers they face, and the types of support that can help them navigate an increasingly complex retirement landscape.

As the pensions system continues to evolve, understanding not just whether people are saving, but how they engage with their long-term financial future, is likely to become an increasingly important part of the policy conversation. 

This article explores how people feel about their pensions. It's one of many insights from Retirement Voice 2026, which explores the experiences, expectations and challenges shaping retirement across the UK