Sometimes, when life is especially busy, your pension contributions can fall low on your list of priorities.
Indeed, you may have taken time off work to care for children or elderly relatives, or your investment choices haven’t been as effective as you thought they would be. You may have simply started saving later than you initially planned.
Even short breaks can set you back significantly. Research from Royal London shows that if you earn £70,000 and pause your pension contributions for just a year, your retirement fund would be worth £12,192 less.
Following 20 years of growth at 5% after charges, that small pause might mean you fall behind by more than £31,000.
Thankfully, you can take small and practical steps today to catch up. Continue reading to discover five ways to do so.
1. Increase your pension contributions
One of the most straightforward ways to boost your retirement savings and catch up is simply by increasing your contributions.
Even a modest rise of £100 or £200 each month could add up to a significant amount over time.
Better yet, you can also benefit from tax relief. This sees the government essentially “top up” your deposits, meaning a £100 contribution would only “cost”:
- Basic-rate taxpayers £80
- Higher-rate taxpayers £60
- Additional-rate taxpayers £55.
Just note that you must claim this extra relief through your self-assessment tax return if you’re a higher- or additional-rate taxpayer.
You can tax-efficiently contribute to your pension up to the “Annual Allowance” each tax year. As of 2025/26, it stands at £60,000, or 100% of your earnings, whichever is lower. This includes personal and employer contributions, as well as tax relief.
This threshold offers a fair amount of headroom for making additional contributions to your pension. Furthermore, you may be able to carry forward unused Annual Allowance from the previous three tax years, increasing the amount you can contribute tax-efficiently in a single year.
Not only can increasing pension contributions give your fund an immediate boost, but the associated tax relief can also help you catch up quicker.
Bear in mind that your Annual Allowance may be reduced if your earnings exceed certain thresholds, or if you have already flexibly accessed your pension (you can read more about this below).
2. Track down lost pension funds
If you’ve moved jobs several times, you may have pension pots you’ve lost track of.
Since 2012, employers have been required to automatically enrol staff into workplace pensions, which can make it easy to forget about pots throughout your career.
The Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association estimates that 3.3 million pension pots are considered “missing”, each with an average value of £9,470, or £13,620 for those aged between 55 and 75.
While this might not seem significant, it could still make a considerable difference to your retirement savings when you combine several pots and factor in growth over time.
To track down your forgotten pots, a helpful first port of call is to contact your previous employers, as they may be able to provide the name of the pension provider.
Alternatively, you might want to contact the provider directly if you can still remember their name but lack specific details of your savings.
Or, if all else fails, you could use the Pension Tracing Service offered by the government.
3. Consider “phasing” your retirement
Retirement doesn’t necessarily involve a “cliff-edge” stop these days. In fact, people are increasingly deciding to phase their retirement, stepping back gradually rather than leaving the workforce entirely.
This typically involves continuing to work in some capacity but reducing your hours, moving into a consultancy role, or taking on a part-time job.
Since you continue to earn an income, you may delay drawing from your pension, giving your savings more time to grow.
You could also keep contributing to your fund, potentially with your employer still adding to your pot, too.
This could allow you to ease into retirement while still helping your retirement fund catch up after a break.
It’s just vital to be aware of the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA), which you may trigger if you start accessing your pension flexibly. In this case, your Annual Allowance for tax-efficient contributions typically falls from £60,000 to £10,000.
Still, phasing your retirement could give you more control over how and when you draw from your pension, helping make your savings last longer.
4. Review your pension investment strategy
The performance of your pension depends on both how much you save and how it’s invested.
At the start of your career, you may have chosen higher-risk investments, targeting more competitive long-term growth.
Yet, when you approach retirement, you may want to reduce your exposure to sudden market volatility.
This approach, known as “pension lifestyling”, typically involves gradually moving your investments into lower-risk assets to protect your wealth.
Just remember that reducing risk too early could mean you miss out on potential growth when you need it most to catch up. Also, it’s worth bearing in mind that many people will drawdown from their pensions during retirement, possibly over a 30-year or more time horizon. Therefore, a ‘de-risking’ strategy is likely to need to be more nuanced than a typical workplace pension plan.
If you have fallen behind, you may be willing to accept more risk in exchange for higher returns. Equally, assessing your savings may reveal that you don’t need to take on as much risk as you thought to achieve your objectives.
A financial planner could help you strike a balance between risk and growth by assessing your goals and investment time frame.
5. Maximise your State Pension entitlement
The State Pension can be a valuable source of income in the next phase of your life, forming the bedrock of your retirement income.
As of 2025/26, the full new State Pension offers £230.25 a week, equating to £11,973 a year.
Even better, the triple lock ensures it increases each year in line with the highest of:
- Inflation (as measured by the Consumer Prices Index)
- Average wage growth
- 2.5%
However, you aren’t immediately entitled to the full value of the State Pension. To qualify, you need to accrue “qualifying years” through National Insurance contributions (NICs).
To be entitled to the full amount, you typically need 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance (NI) record, or at least 10 to be eligible for any at all.
If you’re concerned about your entitlement, it’s worth obtaining a State Pension forecast from the government website. This allows you to identify how many qualifying years you have and the amount you’re already entitled to.
If, after obtaining the forecast, you discover gaps in your record, you can make voluntary contributions to “buy” additional qualifying years for the past six tax years.
While filling gaps in your NI record can be beneficial, it’s worth remembering that it isn’t the right choice for everyone. As such, it’s always worth speaking to a financial planner before you make any payments.
Get in touch
We could help you catch up with your pension savings and give you greater confidence about the next phase of your life.
Please email info@blueskyifas.co.uk or call us on 01189 876655 to find out more.
Please note
This article is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.
All information is correct at the time of writing and is subject to change in the future.
Please do not act based on anything you might read in this article. All contents are based on our understanding of HMRC legislation, which is subject to change.
The Financial Conduct Authority does not regulate tax planning.
A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future performance.
The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates, and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.
Workplace pensions are regulated by The Pensions Regulator.