Six pension checks for Pensions Awareness Week

The six checks

Source: LV=, 16 September 2026.

LV= published a set of six pension checks for Pensions Awareness Week 2026, which runs from 14 to 18 September, with Pension Awareness Day on 15 September. The campaign was established by Pension Geeks in 2014. The checks are framed by Marc Perry, LV= Consumer Finance Expert, and they are deliberately plain: am I saving enough; do I know how much I will need in retirement; am I making the most of workplace pension contributions; have I been putting this off; do I understand what happens before and after retirement; and could increasing contributions benefit me. LV= is a life and pensions mutual insurer serving over one million members and customers, offering investment, protection and retirement products including annuities, drawdown and a SIPP. Liverpool Victoria Financial Services Limited is authorised by the Prudential Regulation Authority and regulated by the FCA and PRA, register number 110035.

Perry's framing is that small actions now matter more than large sums later. That is the logic behind the six checks: each one is a question a saver can answer without opening a spreadsheet, and each answer points to a specific action. The checks also map onto the practical machinery of UK pensions, from the employer contribution rate on a payslip to the State Pension forecast on GOV.UK. LV= states the material is general information only, not financial advice, and that consumers should seek regulated financial advice for their circumstances. The six checks are not a product recommendation. They are a sequence of questions, and the value of the sequence is that it starts with the saver's own position rather than with a market view.

The arithmetic LV= gives

The illustration LV= provides is a 20 year old contributing 50 pounds a month, equivalent to 600 pounds a year. Assuming average annual growth of 7 percent, that saver could build a pension pot of approximately 261,000 pounds by age 70, or around 185,000 pounds by age 65. The gap between the two figures is the cost of five years of contributions and compounding, and it is the clearest argument in the release for starting early rather than starting large. LV= also sets out the relief arithmetic: for every 1 pound many basic-rate taxpayers contribute, the Government effectively adds 25p, so 1 pound contributed becomes 1.25 pounds in the pension.

A note on the 7 percent figure. It is LV='s assumption, before charges and inflation, so the 261,000 pounds should be read as an illustration of compounding rather than a forecast. Charges reduce the pot over time, and inflation reduces what the pot buys. The same sum expressed in today's money after 50 years of inflation is far smaller than 261,000 pounds. The useful part of the example is the shape of the curve: contributions made in the first decade do far more work than contributions made in the last, because they have longer to compound. That is why the checks begin with saving enough and end with increasing contributions, rather than the other way round.

The tax thresholds worth knowing

LV= points to the way pension contributions can affect income-related thresholds. The High Income Child Benefit Charge applies for income between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds, where 1 percent of Child Benefit is repaid for every 200 pounds of income over 60,000. Tax-free childcare and free childcare support are lost above 100,000 pounds. The Personal Allowance is reduced above 100,000 pounds, which produces a high effective marginal rate in that band. Pension contributions reduce adjusted net income, which is why they matter at these points. A contribution made through a workplace scheme or a SIPP lowers adjusted net income for the year, and adjusted net income is the figure these thresholds test.

The practical consequence is that the value of a contribution is not the same for every saver. For a basic-rate taxpayer below the thresholds, the gain is the 25p in the pound described above. For a parent between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds, part of the gain is the Child Benefit that is not repaid. For a parent above 100,000 pounds, part of the gain is childcare support that is not withdrawn, and for a saver above 100,000 pounds, part of the gain is Personal Allowance that is not tapered away. These are interactions between pension saving and the tax system, not separate products, and they are the reason the checks include a question about whether increasing contributions could help. LV= states the article is general information only, not financial advice.

KT: the current numbers behind the checks

Automatic enrolment requires minimum contributions of 8 percent of qualifying earnings, with at least 3 percent from the employer. The qualifying earnings band is 6,240 to 50,270 pounds in 2026/27. The full new State Pension is 241.30 pounds a week. ONS labour market data published on 15 September 2026 put total pay growth for May to July at 3.9 percent, the earnings element of the triple lock for April 2027. HMRC research published for Pension Awareness Week 2026 found one in eight adults, 12.5 percent, have never checked their State Pension forecast, and 45 to 54 year olds are more likely than any other age group never to have checked it. HMRC's Chief Customer Officer is Myrtle Lloyd.

DWP published its Small Pots consultation on 15 September 2026, proposing automatic consolidation of deferred pots worth 1,000 pounds or less from 2030. That proposal speaks directly to the check about making the most of workplace contributions, because small deferred pots from earlier jobs are easy to lose track of and expensive to administer. The HMRC finding speaks to the check about knowing what retirement will cost, because a forecast is the starting point for that calculation. Taken together, the current figures give each of the six checks a concrete reference point: an 8 percent minimum, a 241.30 pounds a week State Pension, a 3.9 percent pay growth figure, a 1,000 pounds small pot threshold, and a 12.5 percent non-checking rate.

How to do each check today

Each check has a free route. A State Pension forecast is available on GOV.UK and in the HMRC app. Lost pots can be traced through the government's Pension Tracing Service. The employer contribution rate can be checked on a payslip or a scheme statement, along with whether the employer matches above the minimum. The Pensions Dashboards Programme is connecting schemes, which will eventually put several pots in one view. MoneyHelper offers free guidance, and Pension Wise offers a free appointment from age 50. None of these routes requires an adviser, and none requires a fee.

The order matters less than the starting point. A saver who checks the forecast first knows the baseline. A saver who checks the employer rate second knows whether the workplace scheme is being used fully. A saver who traces old pots third knows whether there is more in the system than the current statement shows. The Small Pots consultation, if implemented from 2030, would automate part of that third step for deferred pots worth 1,000 pounds or less. Until then, the tracing service is the available route. LV= states the article is general information only, not financial advice, and that consumers should seek regulated financial advice for their circumstances. Press contact for the LV= release is pressoffice@lv.com.

Source: LV= press release, 16 September 2026.

Related coverage on Kael Tripton: Choosing Your Workplace Pension Fund Instead of the Default, Workplace Pension Auto-Enrolment: A 2026 Guide, State Pension Forecast UK 2026: How to Check Yours & Boost It, What Is auto-enrolment? UK Meaning Explained, UK Pension Basics: Auto-Enrolment, SIPPs, Contributions and When You Can Access Your Money.

Frequently asked questions

What are the six pension checks from LV= for Pensions Awareness Week 2026?

Am I saving enough; do I know how much I will need in retirement; am I making the most of workplace pension contributions; have I been putting this off; do I understand what happens before and after retirement; and could increasing contributions benefit me. Marc Perry, LV= Consumer Finance Expert, frames the checks around small actions now mattering more than large sums later.

How much could 50 pounds a month build by age 70?

LV= says a 20 year old contributing 50 pounds a month, equivalent to 600 pounds a year, could build a pension pot of approximately 261,000 pounds by age 70 assuming average annual growth of 7 percent, or around 185,000 pounds by age 65. The 7 percent assumption is before charges and inflation, so the figure illustrates compounding rather than acting as a forecast.

How does tax relief on pension contributions work?

LV= states that for every 1 pound many basic-rate taxpayers contribute, the Government effectively adds 25p, so 1 pound contributed becomes 1.25 pounds in the pension.

Which tax thresholds can pension contributions affect?

LV= notes contributions can affect the High Income Child Benefit Charge for income between 60,000 and 80,000 pounds, where 1 percent of Child Benefit is repaid for every 200 pounds of income over 60,000; the loss of tax-free childcare and free childcare support above 100,000 pounds; and the reduction of the Personal Allowance above 100,000 pounds. Pension contributions reduce adjusted net income, which is the figure these thresholds test.

What are the current automatic enrolment minimums?

Automatic enrolment requires minimum contributions of 8 percent of qualifying earnings, with at least 3 percent from the employer. The qualifying earnings band is 6,240 to 50,270 pounds in 2026/27.