Is It Too Late to Start a Pension? (UK 2026)

To put it simply, it’s never too late to set up a pension and start saving for retirement. It’s always best to start saving into a pension as early as possible, to help maximise your retirement fund. However, if you’ve reached your 40’s or even 50’s and think you may have left it too late, don’t panic! In this blog post we will discuss all the steps you can take to help prepare you for retirement.

How much money will I need to save before retiring?

Only you can decide how much you will need in savings before retirement. This all depends on your outgoings, and the kind of lifestyle that you want.

Start by figuring out your minimum retirement income that covers the costs of the essentials such as mortgage payments, household bills, food and so on. Once you know how much you’d like to have saved, you can check to see how much you’ll need to set aside to reach your target. The easiest way to do this is by using a free online pension calculator.

What are my options if I don’t have a pension?

If you haven’t set up a pension yet and you’re looking at ways that you can start building an income for retirement, there’s plenty of options:

• Delay retirement. You could work past retirement age to give yourself longer to save into your pension pot. You could also decide to defer your state pension whilst you continue to work and benefit from a higher state pension which will result in a pension boost.
  
• Create a second source of income. You could consider a part-time job or think of alternative ways that you could bring in extra income, without having to go to work. You could consider a lodger, rent out a driveway or set up a small business doing something that you enjoy.
  
• Check your state pension. If you have at least 10 years of National Insurance Contributions (NICs), you are entitled to a state pension. How much you are entitled to depends on the amount of National Insurance Contributions you have made. The easiest way to figure this out is to get a state pension forecast.
  
• Set up a pension now. It’s never too late to set up a pension! If you’re eligible for a workplace pension, your employer will contribute to your pension pot too. There’s no minimum amount of time you need to have paid into a pension before you can start drawing an income from it (providing you are over 55 by the time you access it). So it makes sense to set up a pension, even if you’re only planning on paying into it for a short period.
  
• Trace your lost pensions. With an estimated £20 Billion in lost pensions, yours could well be amongst them. Use the Pension Tracing Service to track down any old pensions you may have previously paid into. Tracking down these old pensions could really help boost your retirement funds.