A pension dashboard will show you an estimated income at retirement, combining all your pensions, including any State Pension. However, it will not include:
- Partial matches with potential pensions
- Pensions already in payment
You may have several different types of pension, the figures you see will depend on the type.
There are two main types of pension scheme: Defined Benefit (also known as Final Salary or CARE) and Defined Contribution (also known as Money Purchase).
A Defined Benefit pension typically provides you with an annual income at retirement, calculated based on your earnings and length of time with that employer. In a Defined Contribution plan, both you and your employer pay into a pension ‘pot’ which is invested. At retirement you can decide how to use your pot to provide you with an income.
You can read more about these types of schemes on the retirement basics page.
On a pension dashboard, for a Defined Benefit scheme, you will only see annual income values. For a Defined Contribution scheme, you will also see a ‘pot’ or fund value.
Some Defined Benefit schemes offer Additional Voluntary Contributions (AVCs) which are usually paid into a separate Defined Contribution scheme. These will also be shown on your dashboard as a separate income source.
How have the figures been calculated?
The figures typically assume that you take all your pensions at your Normal Retirement Age . However, in practice you can access your pensions at different ages, depending on the rules of the individual scheme. Generally, taking your benefits early will result in a reduction to the amount you receive.
Each value will show the date it was calculated – known as the illustration date. These will all be within the last 13 months.
What figures are included?
The figures shown may be different depending on the type of scheme (Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution) and whether you are currently contributing to the scheme (known as an active member) or you have left the scheme (known as a deferred member).
Defined Benefit schemes (swap content for a visual):
- Pension you have built up so far *
- Estimated pension (income) at retirement *
- Date you can start taking your pension (i.e. estimated retirement date)
- Date of estimate
Notes on your benefit including:
- If it increases in payment
- Whether there is a spouse pension payable on your death
- If there are any safeguarded benefits
- If there are any pension sharing orders
* If you are a deferred member of the scheme, you will only see the pension you had built up at the point you left the scheme, which will be payable at retirement. You will not see an estimate of the pension you could receive at retirement as you are no longer contributing to the scheme.
It is important to note that, depending on the scheme rules, your deferred pension will be adjusted at retirement to account for inflation.
Defined Contribution schemes (including most AVCs)
- Pension pot built up so far
- Annual income built up so far
- Estimated pot value at retirement
- Estimated annual income at retirement
- Date you can start taking your pension (i.e. estimated retirement date)
- Date of estimate
The annual income figures provided will assume you take a specific option at retirement, known as an annuity. Annuities have a number of options to select when you chose one. All Defined Contribution incomes shown on a dashboard use the same set of options. However, with a Defined Contribution scheme, you can choose how you take your pot at retirement and therefore your income could differ.
Your options at retirement:
- Buy an annuity (annual income until you die)
- Enter a drawdown arrangement (like a bank account where you can take a variable income depending on your needs until your money runs out)
- Take a cash lump sum (you can take all your pot as a cash lump sum subject to tax)
- A combination of these
How should I use the figures?
The figures provided on the dashboard are useful at giving you an estimate of what your retirement income could be and whether you are on track for the retirement income you want. You should use them when thinking about if you are paying enough or when you might be able to retire.
However, they are not guidance or advice and as you get closer to retirement you should consider your options more closely, You may want to speak to an Independent Financial Advisor (IFA)– you can find a list of IFAs on www.unbiased.co.uk.
You can also contact your provider to get the most up-to-date figures, most have an online portal where you can login to see this information.
