One in five don’t engage with their retirement savings until midlife

• The most common life trigger to get Britons to engage with their pension is starting their first job (24%) or reaching midlife (21%)
• The average Brit doesn’t actively engage with retirement savings until age 36 – but Gen Z are engaging earlier, at age 25
• interactive investor launches its ‘SIPPing Point’ campaign to encourage people not to wait until life forces them to think about retirement.

Three-quarters (76%) of Britons only start thinking seriously about their pension after experiencing a major life event, according to new research* from interactive investor (ii), the UK’s leading flat-fee investment platform.

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The findings mark the launch of interactive investor’s new ‘SIPPing Point’ campaign, which explores the life moments that prompt people to take greater control of their retirement savings, while encouraging and empowering them to start planning before life forces them to. A SIPP (self-invested personal pension) is a tax-efficient pension account which can offer a wider choice of investments, control, and flexibility.

Britain’s ‘SIPPing Point’

Starting a first job is the most common trigger, cited by almost a quarter (24%) of respondents. However, this doesn’t mean that Britons are staying engaged with their pensions, as one third (33%) revealed that they engaged with their pension during their workplace onboarding – but they haven’t looked at it since.

One in five (21%) didn’t engage with their retirement savings until their midlife – at which point, they may find they aren’t on track for their dream retirement and may have missed out on decades of compounding and growth.

Other key ‘SIPPing Points’ include having children (13%) and getting on the property ladder (11%).

Life events aren’t the only things triggering pension engagement, as 18% started taking their pension seriously after discussing it with their family, friends, and parents.

The research also reveals that the average adult in the UK doesn’t actively engage with their pension until the age of 36: with major life milestones acting as the catalyst rather than proactive financial planning.

Camilla Esmund, Head of Investor Campaigns at interactive investor, said: “For many people, it takes a major life event before pension saving suddenly feels real. We’re calling that moment their ‘SIPPing point.’ Understandably, pension saving, or ‘future-you’ saving, won’t always feel like a priority; especially with various and more immediate demands on our finances. Naturally, this will vary depending on where we are in our lives, and that is ok. What we’re trying to do with this campaign is to change the culture around pension saving and make it something everyone can actively engage with earlier in whatever way makes sense for them as an individual, putting them in the driver’s seat of their financial future.

“It’s encouraging to see younger generations reaching that ‘SIPPing point’ much earlier than previous generations. Growing up during a period of rising living costs and ongoing uncertainty about the future of retirement has likely made many younger adults increasingly financially aware, while auto-enrolment has also helped bring pensions into the conversation earlier in people’s working lives.”

Younger generations are changing the conversation

Gen Z respondents reported that they started to actively engage with their pension at just 25 years old on average, compared with 38 among Gen X, and 41 among Baby Boomers.

More than a quarter (28%) of Gen Z respondents said they first thought seriously about their pension when starting their first job, compared with just 17% of Boomers. Meanwhile, 22% of Gen Z said getting on the property ladder prompted them to engage with their pension, compared with only 7% of Baby Boomers.

Don’t wait for your ‘SIPPing Point’

Whatever your ‘SIPPing Point’ looks like, interactive investor is encouraging people not to wait until life forces them to think about retirement.

Esmund continues: “When it comes to your retirement, the important thing is not to wait until life forces the conversation. Starting early, contributing little and often, and making the most of tax-efficient pension savings can make a meaningful difference over the long term.

“Retirement can feel like a long way off when you’re building your career, buying a home or raising a family, but giving your pension more time to grow is one of the biggest financial advantages you can give your future self.

“Our findings also raise some interesting questions. For example, does the increase in people thinking about pensions when they start their first job suggest employers are becoming better at supporting financial wellbeing? It’s encouraging to see pensions becoming part of the conversation earlier in life.”

A note on the gender pension gap

Esmund adds: “As it stands, women are retiring with less financial security than men, due to a range of structural barriers that can hinder women’s ability to build long-term wealth. I’d encourage young women to seriously start thinking about their pension savings earlier if they can; discuss it with friends, family, a partner. It’s ok if you can’t prioritise it right now, but you have time on your side so at least get it on your radar. Working out what is feasible in terms of bolstering your pension saving earlier or using other tax-efficient tools such as ISAs to build your financial tool-kit more broadly, can help off-set any gaps that may widen in later life.”

Have you reached your SIPPing Point?

Whether you’ve started a new job, bought your first home, become a parent or simply want to understand your retirement savings better, interactive investor encourages people to:

• Take control back by doing a pension deep-dive: how many pensions do you have? How are they invested?“Taking a look at your current pension pot(s) is a great first step. See where your pension is invested, look at performance, and check that your investments are pulling their weight and whether they align with your goals and timeframe. If anything is unclear and you’re still unsure, ask the provider.”
• Review whether you're contributing enough for your retirement goals: “There are plenty of retirement calculators available to break down your pension and see if you’re on track for your ideal retirement. If you have a workplace pension scheme, if you choose to contribute a higher percentage of your income, some employers may match some or all the extra money you choose to contribute. If your employer offers salary sacrifice, you'll save national insurance on pension payments as well as income tax, helping to boost your take-home pay.”
• Understand whether a SIPP could be right for you: “If you have multiple pension pots, consolidation may be an option to consider. You can merge all your pension pots within a SIPP, which can help make it much easier to keep track of your pension pot, going forward. It can also help you keep an eye on fees, too. Just be sure to check that you don’t lose any valuable benefits by doing so. Bear in mind that you will have to be prepared to make your own investment decisions, but there are educational tools on interactive investor to help. That said, there are also managed options out there, such as interactive investor’s managed portfolios.”
• Review your pension regularly as your circumstances change: “Keeping an eye on your pension on a regular basis can help ensure that you’ll stay on track for your dream retirement, particularly when you go through significant life changes and your priorities change.”

*Research conducted with Opinium among 2,000 nationally representative UK adults between 7 - 10 July 2026.