A fresh start or a gentle reset?

Your pension is a good place to begin in 2026.

Are you the kind of person who likes a fresh start at the beginning of a new year? Or someone who prefers to ease into the year and deal with things when they really matter? Either way, your pension is worth a few minutes of your time right now.

Your pension changes as you do. It moves with you through new jobs, pay rises, time out of work and shifting priorities. Giving it a bit of attention now helps make sure it’s still working in your best interests, not just ticking along in the background.

The good news is that you don’t need to be an expert, and you don’t need to set aside an afternoon. Most of these steps take less than two minutes.

A few simple actions today could mean:

• More clarity on where you are in your retirement saving journey
• Fewer surprises later on 
• Greater peace of mind about life after work

If it’s been a while since you last checked in, this short checklist will help you get back up to speed and feel more in control of where you’re heading.

Here’s how you can get started, right now.

Your pension checklist

• Sign in and check your balance – know exactly where you stand 
• Find any old or lost pots – it’s your money, don’t forget about it 
• Make a one-off payment  – add any extra cash from a bonus or any spare money 
• Check your contributions – you could be leaving free money on the table 
• Update your personal information – review and confirm your beneficiaries to protect the people you care about 
• Set one simple goal for the year – even a small win makes a difference 
• Set a check-in reminder – future you will thank you 

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Sign in and check your balance

Many people set up their pension and don’t look at it again for years. Simply checking in a few times a year already puts you ahead of most savers.

What to look out for:

• Your total currently saved
• Recent contributions from you and your employer
• Any fees from the provider

Even if you don’t fully understand every detail, that’s OK. Simply being aware is the first step to making better decisions later.

Making this a once-a-year habit helps you stay connected to your pension as your working life evolves.

If you can’t remember your Smart Pension username or password, you can easily request a username reminder or reset your password here.

Track down and combine pension pots

If you’ve changed jobs a few times, chances are you have pension pots scattered around. Millions of people in the UK do, and tens of millions of pounds remain unclaimed.

Changing jobs doesn’t mean starting your pension from scratch. Your pension stays with you for life, even when your employer changes.

If you have a lost pension, this is still your money, so it’s important to keep track of your pension savings and find any lost pots you may have.

Once you’ve found your lost pots, you can combine your pension savings. 

Bringing your pensions together can make your savings easier to manage, clearer to track and potentially cheaper over time.

Here’s how you can get started today:

• Make a list of your past employers
• Search for any lost pots with Smart Pension’s free lost or forgotten pension tracing service
• Decide whether you want to keep them separate or combine them

Bringing old pots together helps keep your lifetime savings in one place, making them easier to manage as you move through your career and into life after work.

You don’t have to combine all your pension pots, but many people prefer the simplicity and lower fees. Follow the link below to get started.

Combine my pensions

Check your contributions

Your pension grows every month through contributions from you, your employer and the government through tax relief. So it’s worth checking whether you’re happy with how much is going in each month.

Even a small increase today could have a much bigger impact over time thanks to compound growth, especially when employer contributions and tax relief are added in.

As your career progresses and your income changes, reviewing your contributions helps ensure your pension keeps pace with your life today – not just the job you had years ago.

Here are some things to think about:

• Has my salary changed since I last reviewed this?
• Could I afford to increase my contributions a little each month?
• Am I making the most of employer contribution matching? Remember, this is basically free money.

Many people choose to review this at the start of the year, when it’s natural to take a step back and review your plans for the year ahead.

Review and update your personal details

This is one of the most overlooked parts of saving for retirement, but one of the most important.

Your pension is usually outside your will, so the provider needs to know who you want to receive it if anything happens to you. 

It’s essential to review this after major life changes, such as getting married, having children or changing circumstances.

It takes less than a minute and ensures that, if the unexpected happens, your pension goes to the people you choose (known as beneficiaries) – quickly and with less stress for them.

Set one simple pension goal for the year

When it comes to saving for your retirement, progress beats perfection. One small action this year is better than good intentions that never happen.

Your pension goals don’t stay the same forever – they change as your career, income and life change too. That’s why setting one small goal each year really works.

It could be:

• Tracking down any old or ‘lost’ pots
• Topping up when you can by making a one-off payment or increasing your monthly contributions 
• Taking advantage of your employer’s contribution matching scheme, if available
• Updating your personal details and checking your beneficiaries
• Reading your annual statement

One small goal that you hit is better than a long list of ones you don’t.

You can get a clearer picture of your retirement savings and possible next steps with our handy retirement calculator. It only takes a few minutes and could help you see exactly where you are on your retirement journey.

Set a check-in reminder for next year

The easiest way to stay on top of your pension is to check up at least once a year. Set a reminder to check in again this time next year and try to make it a yearly habit that sticks.

Think of this as a yearly check–up for something that will support you for the rest of your life.

Final thoughts

You don’t need to know everything about pensions to give yourself greater financial freedom after you leave work. A quick yearly checkup can help you stay informed, confident, and better positioned to make your life after work more comfortable. 

If you have any questions or queries about saving for your retirement, get in touch with a member of our team, and we’ll be happy to help.

About Smart Pension

Launched in 2015, Smart Pension now exceeds £10bn in Assets Under Management (AUM) and serves over 2 million members and 100,000 employers. It is powered by Keystone, Smart’s global savings and investments technology platform.

Aquiline, Barclays, Chrysalis Investments, DWS Group, Fidelity InternationalStrategic Ventures, J.P. Morgan, Legal & General Investment Management, MUFG and Natixis Investment Managers are all investors in Smart Pension.