Less than half (47 per cent) of British people know how their pension investments are performing, with men “significantly” more likely to know than women, research from Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed.

Hargreaves Lansdown head of workplace saving analysis, Clare Stinton, said that more than half of people (53 per cent) don’t know how their pension investments are performing.

She warned that the picture becomes “even starker” when viewed through a gender lens, as 58 per cent of men know how their pension investments are performing, while 36 per cent of women said the same.

Stinton noted that the gap in awareness between men and women is present across the age spectrum, arguing that it matters as investment performance is one of the biggest drivers of pension growth.

“The gender pension gap doesn’t happen overnight; it builds over a lifetime, due to career breaks, the gender pay gap, and more women working part-time,” Stinton said.

In addition to gender, age was also a factor in people’s knowledge of how their pension investments are performing, as half of the respondents aged between 18 and 34, as well as those over age 55, know how their pension is doing.

However, for those aged 35-54, this percentage was lower, with 43 per cent of this age cohort claiming they understood how their pension investments are faring.

Stinton noted that although the age range of 35 to 54 is often filled with competing responsibilities, it is "crucial" to carve out time to invest in the future.

In terms of reasons for being “in the dark” about pension investments, 20 per cent of respondents said they did not know what to look for, 18 per cent said they did not realise they needed to check, and 15 per cent said they did not know how to check.

Stinton said these responses underline the “critical” role of financial education.

“With so many unsure of where to begin, it’s clear we must do more to empower people to take control of their financial future,” she said

“When people get access to holistic financial education alongside their auto-enrolment pension, they’re far more likely to engage.”

Stinton highlighted figures showing that around 25 per cent of men and 15 per cent of women are actively choosing investments outside the default fund, which increases to 45 per cent and 29 per cent respectively when people have taken the opportunity to speak one-on-one with an expert.

She also suggested that the Financial Conduct Authority’s Value for Money framework is a “vital step in the right direction” in terms of providing the right tools to savers to support and instil confidence to make informed decisions.

“The push to equip providers to offer more personalised support through the advice guidance boundary review is equally important,” she added.

“We need to help people join the dots between today’s decisions and tomorrow’s financial freedom.”

This article was originally published on our sister website, Pensions Age.

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