Guide
Reading a workplace pension annual statement without the jargon fog
Charges, contribution rates, and fund choice sit on most annual statements — here is how to read them in order.
Workplace pension statements arrive with dense tables. Start with three lines only: your current pot value, the contribution split between you and your employer, and the total annual charge expressed as a percentage. Those three numbers tell you whether money is still flowing in and how much is leaving in fees.
Next, check the investment section. Default funds are common and often suitable for long horizons, but they may not match someone within a decade of retirement who needs lower volatility. Look for the risk rating language — cautious, balanced, adventurous — and ask whether that rating still fits your leaving date.
Guarantees deserve a separate glance. Older schemes sometimes preserve valuable features that vanish on transfer. If your statement mentions guaranteed annuity rates or protected tax-free cash, do not assume consolidation is automatically better. A short consolidation review can compare those features against any charge saving.
Finally, note the projection figures. They are illustrations, not promises. Use them to spot whether your contribution rate is drifting behind inflation and salary growth. Bring two consecutive statements to a meeting; the year-on-year change often reveals more than a single snapshot.