12.2m UK adults at risk of pension poverty in later life, report estimates

Around 12.2 million adults across the UK are at risk of being unable to cover their basic financial needs in retirement, a report estimates.

The report, published by Scottish Widows, did indicate an improvement compared with last year – when 15.3 million people were thought not to be on track for even the minimum needed in retirement.

The improvement has partly been driven by people who do not save into a pension seeing improvements elsewhere, such as through slightly higher pay, increased non-pension savings or levels of homeownership, the report found.

Falls in energy costs have also helped improve the benchmark for the amounts households need to live on, but with global events pushing energy costs back up, this positive progress could soon be undone, researchers cautioned.

Scottish Widows’ national retirement forecast took into account retirement living standards set out by Pensions UK.

The standards were developed to help pension savers picture what kind of lifestyle they could have in retirement.

The Scottish Widows forecast projects retirement outcomes for people aged 22 to 65 based on their savings, behaviours and income sources, comparing expected income to potential living and housing costs in retirement and is based on a survey of around 6,000 people. YouGov carried out the survey in February.

Some groups of people are particularly likely to be at risk of poverty in retirement, the report found.

Published: 13/05/2026 by Radio NewsHub