15 million across UK under-saving for retirement, warns Pensions Commission

About 15 million people are thought to be under-saving for their retirement, according to the Pensions Commission, which said a fresh “national settlement” for pensions was needed.

The commission published an interim report on the state of retirement saving in the UK, warning that significant groups of people could face a severe cliff-edge when they retire.

Women, low and middle earners, and the self‑employed are among those who could be particularly at risk, according to the commission, which said the number of people under-saving for later life could reach 19 million without action.

Millions more people could also be at risk of becoming reliant on state support in retirement, the commission says.

Its interim report said: “The forces reshaping our society – longer retirements, slower growth, and falling home ownership – demand a renewed national settlement on pensions.”

The report continued: “The share of our population over the age of 65 is projected to reach 28% by 2075, up from 19% today.

“The number of people aged 75 or over is projected to double between 2025 and 2075: a rise of six million.

“State pension age increases and slowing life expectancy increases have kept down the old-age dependency ratio during the past 20 years, but over the next decade it is expected to reach three pensioners for every 10 working-age adults and four for every 10 by the 2070s.”

It added: “Spending on pensioner benefits (including the state pension) is projected to grow from around 6% of GDP in 2024-25 to around 9% by the early 2070s.”

Set up by the Government in July 2025, the commission aims to address savings challenges that have been building for decades.

Many people do not have salary-based pensions to rely on in retirement, as these have become less common, and instead bear the risk of how much money they will end up with, based on factors such as contributions and the performance of funds.

Some groups of people are also left out of automatic enrolment into workplace pensions, such as those earning below the £10,000 earnings “trigger” in a job and people who are self-employed.

The Commission said just 4% (one in 25) of wholly self-employed workers are saving for retirement.

Published: 19/05/2026 by Radio NewsHub