Should pension education become part of workplace training?

For more than a decade, automatic enrolment has helped millions more people save into a pension. But participation is only part of the picture.

Our Decades Ahead research found that around nine million people aged 25 to 54 are not on track for an adequate retirement, despite many already saving into a pension. 

That raises an important question. If automatic enrolment helped address the participation challenge, what could help address the understanding challenge?

From participation to understanding

For many people, pensions can still feel distant and difficult to navigate. Savers may not know how much they're contributing, how their pension is invested or whether they will have enough for the retirement they want.

The challenge for the industry is therefore evolving. It's no longer simply about getting more people to save. It's also about helping them understand whether they're saving enough and giving them the knowledge and confidence to make informed decisions about their future. 

And one of the biggest opportunities to do that may already be part of people's everyday lives: the workplace.

Employers routinely provide training on subjects such as health and safety, cyber security, compliance and wellbeing. However, despite pension savings often becoming one of the largest financial assets someone owns, education around retirement planning can still be optional or unavailable. 

Our research* highlights that, in the last year, 45% of people who turned to their employer for pension information checked their pension balance, compared with 29% of those who didn't. They were also almost twice as likely to increase their pension contributions.

What if pension education became a more established part of working life?

Building Future You

That's the question we're exploring through Building Future You, developed as part of our wider Decades Ahead programme.

Building Future You is a workplace pilot designed to explore whether structured pension education can help improve engagement and encourage positive pension behaviours. 

The pilot will take place with a sample of our own L&G employees. Participants will receive the same support, including short video modules designed to help them understand their pension priorities and identify practical next steps.

Half will be required to complete the Building Future You learning as part of their workplace experience, while the other half will be invited to complete it voluntarily. 

We will then compare outcomes across the groups, with the findings intended to inform future support for employers and workplace pension members, as well as wider discussions around pension engagement. 

Education isn't the whole answer

Of course, pension education alone cannot solve the retirement adequacy challenge.

Whether someone is able to save enough for retirement can be influenced by many factors, from earnings and contribution levels to housing costs and wider financial pressures. 

But knowledge and confidence can play an important role. Before people can consider actions such as contributing more, consolidating pensions, reviewing their investments or planning their retirement income, they need to understand the choices available to them. 

That's why Building Future You is about testing an idea and building the evidence around what could make a meaningful difference.

Looking decades ahead

Automatic enrolment showed what's possible when government, employers and the pensions industry work together to change saving behaviour at scale.

Now, as the industry increasingly turns its attention towards retirement adequacy, we need to think about what comes next.

Employers already occupy a unique place in people's financial lives. Building Future You will explore whether making pension education a more routine part of that relationship could help people move from passive participation towards a more active understanding of their financial future. 

Because the next pensions challenge isn't simply helping people save.

It's helping them understand the future they're building for the decades ahead.

Find out more about Building Future You: Building Future You | Asset Management | L&G.

* On behalf of L&G, Public First conducted a large survey of 8,008 working age adults (18-69) between 11 October 2025 and 21 October 2025. The results were weighted to be nationally representative.

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