Discover how to check your pension contributions for old and existing pensions pots.
Keeping track of your pension contributions is as important as checking you have enough fuel for a long journey. It's a way of ensuring that the money you're saving now will be enough for you to enjoy your retirement later.
This includes checking money saved in your workplace pension, any personal pensions you've set up, and understanding how tax relief adds to your savings.
If you ever lose track of any of your pensions, don’t worry – there are ways to find them again and get back on course.
Finding workplace pension contributions
Your workplace pension is a key part of your retirement savings. Both you and your employer add money to your current workplace pension.
To check how much you've contributed, you can:
- Look at your latest payslip. It usually shows your pension contributions.
- Contact your HR department. They can tell you more about your contributions and how the scheme works.
- Read your pension statement. These are usually sent by your pension provider once a year and will give you a complete rundown of your contributions and pension value.
- Contact the pension provider for a detailed breakdown of your contributions over time. Your employer will be able to give you their contact details or there will usually be a telephone number in any paperwork they send you.
Finding personal pension contributions
Personal pensions are set up by yourself. To track your contributions, you can:
- Review your bank statements. Look for regular payments to your pension provider.
- Read your yearly pension statement.
- Contact your pension provider directly. They can give you a statement showing your contributions. If you have online access to your pension, you might be able to use it to check your statement without contacting them directly.
Checking your tax relief on your pension contributions
Tax relief boosts your pension contributions, this means you get more out of the money you pay into your pension, giving you more money for when you retire. It’s important to first understand the relief that you're entitled to. There are several different ways tax relief can be applied to your contributions. To find out how your pension receives tax relief, contact your pension provider or speak to your employer.
Relief at source
- Personal pensions, including Group Personal Pensions, operate on a relief at source basis.
- This means your pension provider claims back the income tax you've already paid on the money, but at a fixed rate of 20% for everyone.
- If you pay income tax at a higher rate than 20%, you'll need to claim the extra tax relief yourself.
- To claim this additional tax relief, you'll need contact HMRC. They will usually ask you to complete a self-assessment tax return. More information is available here. You can usually claim any tax relief you've missed in the four previous tax years.
Net Pay
- This means your pension contributions are taken from your salary after national insurance is deducted but before income tax is deducted.
- This means you only pay National Insurance on the contribution and no income tax needs to be claimed back from HMRC.
- Occupational pension schemes operate contributions on a Net Pay basis.
Salary Exchange(also know as Salary Sacrifice)
- This is an arrangement between you and your employer in which you agree to a reduction in your salary or bonus, and in return your employer contributes this amount into your pension.
- This means you do not pay national insurance or income tax on the contributions.
