Pension statements explained: each shows what the pension is worth, how that changed and the income it may pay. None arrived? Ask the provider.

Statements look different from one provider to the next, and the headline number is rarely the one you will be paid. Not sure what a figure on yours means? An FCA-authorised adviser goes through pension statements on a free call, and the form on this page can line one up for your own.

How do I get my pension statement?

MoneyHelper says you can usually log in to your provider's online account or use their mobile app, or ask your provider to post one to you. For a defined contribution pension, the provider must also send a statement at least once a year. Defined benefit providers often do too, but do not have to, so a member of a final salary or career average scheme who has never had one can simply ask.

If you do not know who holds a pension, the Pension Tracing Service gives contact details for a scheme or provider once you supply the name of an employer or provider. GOV.UK is clear that the service gives contact details only, not the existence or value of a pension, so the statement itself still has to come from the scheme. Our guide to finding a lost pension covers the tracing steps.

The State Pension works differently. It has no annual statement from a provider; you ask for a forecast, covered further down.

The figures on a defined contribution statement

A defined contribution pension is a pot that is paid into and invested (see what a defined contribution pension is). MoneyHelper says its statement will usually show five things:

  • the current value of your pension, including any investment growth or loss;
  • how much has been paid in, including any tax relief;
  • whether any money has moved to or from other pension schemes;
  • the fees you have paid;
  • how much retirement income you are currently on track to get.

Read the first figure as a snapshot. The value of investments can fall as well as rise, so you may get back less than has been paid in, and the pot on your statement can be higher or lower next year. Our page on why pension values fall explains the swings.

Check the contributions line against your payslips. If you are still paying in, there should be no gaps or missing payments, and an employer's payments should be listed too. You can also ask the provider what your employer must pay in: a payment schedule sets this out for a defined contribution pension, a schedule of contributions for a defined benefit one. If money is missing, see what to do about unpaid contributions. The fees line matters as much: a defined contribution pension usually carries charges for investing, often including an annual management charge, whereas MoneyHelper says you will not pay any charges in a defined benefit pension. For what the percentages mean in pounds, see pension charges.

The same guide notes a statement will not usually explain how the scheme is run. A trust-based scheme can give you its trust deed and rules, and a personal or stakeholder pension has policy conditions you can ask for. Where a workplace scheme was set up by your employer, you can also check the contribution rules in how auto-enrolment works.

What does the projected retirement income mean?

The income forecast on a defined contribution statement is usually a statutory money purchase illustration, or SMPI. Scottish Widows describes it as an illustration of what your pension may be worth in today's money when you reach your selected retirement age, and says legislation requires SMPIs to be produced in line with guidance from the Financial Reporting Council. Our guide to pension forecasts sets out that legal method. Today's money matters: ReAssure explains that inflation is taken into account, so the figure is meant to be comparable with prices now rather than prices at some later date.

Three things sit behind that one number:

  • A growth assumption. ReAssure's guide says its figures assume the pot grows by a fixed amount each year, based on the mix of investments you have chosen. Real returns will differ.
  • A retirement age. The projection is to a selected or normal pension age. MoneyHelper says the estimate is usually based on converting all of your money into guaranteed income at that age, which is what buying an annuity means (see how annuities work), so a different age gives a different figure.
  • Future charges. ReAssure says its income amounts allow for charges and expenses to come.
  • The shape of the income. Scottish Widows explains that under FRC guidance changed from 1 October 2023, the income is shown as a yearly amount that does not rise once paid and is not paid on to a surviving spouse after your death, and the illustration no longer shows a 25% tax-free lump sum. The assumed growth now comes from how much each fund's monthly returns varied over the previous five years.

The figure is an illustration, not a promise. Scottish Widows says the figures in an SMPI are not guaranteed and are for illustration purposes only, and that you do not have to take your pension in the form shown. It adds that you can still choose an income that rises or continues to a spouse, that up to 25% can normally be taken tax-free within an overall cap, and that staying invested may be possible; your options at retirement and drawdown set out the choices.

A projection is only useful if you know what you are comparing it with, and that depends on your other income and what you want to spend. Laying that projection alongside your other retirement money is a sum to tackle with an FCA-authorised adviser, who rings for free when the short form here arrives.

How do I read a defined benefit pension statement?

A defined benefit statement leads with an income, not a pot (see final salary pensions for how the promise is built). MoneyHelper says it should show how long you have been a member, how your benefits are calculated and on what part of your salary, and whether any money has been paid out, including transfers to other schemes. It should also give the guaranteed retirement income you will get if you:

  • continued working for your employer until the scheme's normal retirement date, or
  • left the scheme in the next month.

Those two figures answer different questions. The first assumes you keep building benefits; the second is what you have already earned. If you left the employer years ago, your benefits are deferred, and deferred defined benefit pensions explains how they behave.

MoneyHelper adds that you might find the cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) on a defined benefit statement, or you can ask the provider. That figure tells you how much is available in the pension to transfer; how a transfer value is worked out explains what sits behind it. Because a transfer cannot easily be undone, treat any statement figure as the start of a conversation, not a reason to move. Transferring a pension lists the checks.

Public-sector schemes print their own statements. NHS members, for instance, will find the value in the standard benefits table, which NHS pension value walks through.

What should I check on a statement each year?

MoneyHelper lists four checks, which fit most statements.

  1. Contributions. Do the amounts match what you and your employer should be paying?
  2. Income. Is the projected income likely to be enough? A defined contribution pot can still rise or fall until you take the money.
  3. Fees. If you are not sure what you are paying for, ask your provider to explain.
  4. Your details. Double check the provider has your correct name and contact information; with wrong details, you might miss out on money you are entitled to.

If the statement shows several small pots, holding more than one pension explains why that is allowed, and how much you may need gives a target to test them against.

How do I check my State Pension?

There is no yearly State Pension statement to wait for. You check a forecast yourself, online at GOV.UK or in the HMRC app, and it shows what you could get, from when, and whether you can add to it. A paper copy by post is possible too while State Pension age is more than 30 days away. Once you are claiming, or have put off claiming, the forecast service no longer applies: GOV.UK points you to the Pension Service, or the International Pension Centre if you live abroad. Getting a pension forecast walks through each route, and the State Pension covers how the amount is built.

Pension statement questions

Should I get a pension statement every year?

For a defined contribution pension, yes: MoneyHelper says the provider must send one at least once a year. Defined benefit schemes often send one but are not obliged to, so ask if yours has gone quiet.

Why is the figure in my retirement income projection so different from my pot?

The pot is what the pension is worth now. The projection is an estimate of income at a future age, based on assumed growth, inflation and charges, so the two are different kinds of number. Which assumptions apply is set out in the statement or the provider's own guide to it.

Can I rely on the retirement income shown?

Not for a defined contribution pot: Scottish Widows says SMPI figures are not guaranteed and are for illustration only. A defined benefit income is built from your service and salary under the scheme rules, so the scheme can confirm what you have already secured.

What is the difference between my statement and a transfer value?

A statement shows what the pension is worth and what it may pay. A transfer value is a separate figure you request if you are thinking of moving the pension; MoneyHelper says a defined benefit statement may show a CETV, or you can ask for one.

Can I get a statement for a pension I have lost track of?

Start with the tracing service to find the scheme's contact details, then ask that scheme for a statement. The statement itself comes only from the scheme or provider.

Who else can explain my statement?

The provider can explain its own figures, and MoneyHelper's pension specialists answer questions free by webchat, WhatsApp or phone. Pension Wise, MoneyHelper's free guidance service, covers the choices for taking a defined contribution pot if you are aged 50 or more and the pension is UK-based; it guides rather than advises. Your own numbers decide what a statement means for you. On a free phone call, an FCA-authorised adviser goes over yours line by line, once you have submitted the form on this page.

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