{"id":19310,"date":"2025-12-08T07:22:49","date_gmt":"2025-12-08T07:22:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/?p=19310"},"modified":"2025-12-08T07:22:49","modified_gmt":"2025-12-08T07:22:49","slug":"5-costly-pension-mistakes-youre-probably-making-right-now","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/?p=19310","title":{"rendered":"5 Costly Pension Mistakes You’re Probably Making Right Now"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Are you risking your retirement savings? Experts reveal the most common pension pitfalls \u2013 and how to fix them before it’s too late.<\/p>\n

With pensions often taking a backseat in financial planning, millions of Brits are making simple mistakes that could cost them thousands in retirement. We spoke with Lisa Picardo (PensionBee) and Claire Trott (St. James\u2019s Place) to uncover the top pension blunders \u2013 and how to avoid them.<\/p>\n

1. Losing Track of Your Pension Pots
\nThe Problem:<\/p>\n

1 in 10 UK workers have lost a pension pot (4.8 million forgotten pensions).<\/p>\n

Auto-enrolment means new workplace pensions with every job change \u2013 leading to scattered savings.<\/p>\n

The Fix:
\n\u2705 Consolidate pensions into one pot for easier management & lower fees.
\n\u2705 Use the Pension Tracing Service to find lost pensions.<\/p>\n

2. Missing Out on Free Employer Contributions
\nThe Problem:<\/p>\n

Under auto-enrolment, employers must contribute at least 3% of your salary.<\/p>\n

Many offer matching contributions (e.g., if you pay 5%, they\u2019ll pay 5%).<\/p>\n

Opting out = turning down free money!<\/p>\n

The Fix:
\n\u2705 Always contribute enough to get the full employer match \u2013 it\u2019s part of your pay package.
\n\u2705 Check if your employer offers salary sacrifice schemes (extra tax savings).<\/p>\n

3. Starting Too Late or Contributing Too Little
\nThe Problem:<\/p>\n

Delaying pension savings reduces compound growth (the \u2018magic\u2019 of long-term investing).<\/p>\n

A \u00a3200\/month contribution at age 25 could grow to \u00a3400k+ by 65 (vs. \u00a3150k if started at 35).<\/p>\n

The Fix:
\n\u2705 Start early \u2013 even small amounts add up over time.
\n\u2705 Increase contributions with pay rises (e.g., put half your raise into your pension).<\/p>\n

4. Not Claiming Higher-Rate Tax Relief
\nThe Problem:<\/p>\n

Basic-rate taxpayers get 20% tax relief automatically.<\/p>\n

Higher\/additional-rate taxpayers (40%\/45%) must claim extra relief manually via:<\/p>\n

Self Assessment tax return<\/p>\n

HMRC tax code adjustment<\/p>\n

The Fix:
\n\u2705 Call HMRC to claim backdated relief (up to 4 years).
\n\u2705 For one-off contributions, specify they shouldn\u2019t adjust future tax codes.<\/p>\n

5. Ignoring Pension Flexibility at Retirement
\nThe Problem:<\/p>\n

Many cash out pensions too early or lock into poor annuity deals.<\/p>\n

Pension freedoms (since 2015) allow flexible drawdown, lump sums, or reinvesting.<\/p>\n

The Fix:
\n\u2705 Explore all options \u2013 25% tax-free lump sum, drawdown, or mix-and-match.
\n\u2705 Get independent financial advice before making irreversible decisions.<\/p>\n

Final Checklist: How to Fix Your Pension Today
\n\u2714 Track down & consolidate old pensions
\n\u2714 Maximise employer contributions
\n\u2714 Start early & increase payments over time
\n\u2714 Claim higher-rate tax relief if eligible
\n\u2714 Plan flexibly for retirement<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Are you risking your retirement savings? Experts reveal the most common pension pitfalls \u2013 and how to fix them before …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":19304,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rank_math_title":"","rank_math_description":"","rank_math_focus_keyword":"","rank_math_keywords":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-19310","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19310","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=19310"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19310\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":19311,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/19310\/revisions\/19311"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/19304"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=19310"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=19310"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lotayamedia.xyz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=19310"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}