Britain is grappling with a severe retirement savings crisis, with newly released Department for Work and Pensions figures revealing that more than two-fifths of working-age adults—equivalent to 14.6 million people—are failing to save adequately for their later years.

The situation is particularly acute amongst the self-employed, with over three million not contributing to any pension scheme, whilst only one in four low earners in the private sector are actively saving for retirement.

The scale of the problem becomes clearer when measured against industry standards, with fewer than one in four people on track to achieve what Pensions UK considers a “comfortable” retirement income level. More concerning still, over one in ten won’t even reach the minimum income threshold, potentially leaving them unable to meet basic living costs in retirement. This represents a significant challenge for future retirees, who are projected to receive 8% less private pension income than those retiring today, despite benefiting from automatic enrolment schemes for much of their working lives.

Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell, warns that without dramatic increases in pension saving rates, the vast majority of people retiring in the 2050s will be forced to abandon even modest retirement luxuries.

To help avoid this, Selby has provided five pension tips for those preparing for retirement to consider:

1. Make the most of employer contributions and tax relief

“The first thing all employees should do is check to make sure they are opted into their workplace pension scheme and make the most of their employer contributions and tax relief. 

“It is vital people make the most of employer contributions, which effectively tops up your pension for free. This will significantly boost your pot over time, particularly as you benefit from tax-free investment returns on your own money and the tax relief top-up. Even small contributions each month can add up. For example, putting away £100 a month, which then gets automatically topped up to £125 a month after tax relief, would be worth almost £52,000 after 20 years, assuming 5% investment growth a year after charges.”

2. Check charges and consolidate

“Checking which provider your pension pots are held with and what fees they charge is also a solid step. There’s a decent chance many people will have multiple pension pots that they’ve accumulated through various employers too, which can be tricky to navigate. Consolidation of all of those pots with a single provider can come with some significant benefits. Most obviously, a single retirement pot is much easier to track and manage than having various pensions with different providers. You could also benefit from lower costs and charges, increased income flexibility and more investment choice by switching provider.”

3. Increase contributions

“Saving regularly into a pension as early as possible is the single most effective way to boost your retirement income in the long term. Even small increases in contributions can make a huge difference in retirement, so start by figuring out your budget and prioritising short, medium and long-term savings goals. Once you’ve done that, you should have a clearer picture of your current spending and any spare money you might have to set aside for your financial future.”

4. Opt-in

“Although it may have been tempting to opt-out of your workplace pension over the past few years to fund rising bills and everyday spending, that should be a last resort and something you try and reverse as soon as possible. Opting out means you won’t get your employer contribution, effectively meaning you’re giving up on free money and voluntarily reducing your overall pay package.”

5. Look at Lifetime ISAs

“The Lifetime ISA can also be an attractive retirement saving option, for self-employed workers and basic-rate taxpayers saving outside their workplace pension in particular. For most employees a pension will be the best option thanks to the employer contribution on offer. Self-employed workers can’t access that, but are able to save into a Lifetime ISA, earning a bonus equivalent to basic rate tax relief, without the need to pay tax on withdrawals.

“Lifetime ISA funds have the flexibility to be withdrawn early – albeit with an exit penalty that means you might get back less than you put in – if your financial circumstances take a turn for the worse. On top of this, income withdrawal is completely tax-free after age 60. Pensions, on the other hand, generally can’t be touched until you reach age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028) and only offer 25% tax free on withdrawal.”

The FTSE 100 soared on Tuesday as investors digested a raft of corporate updates and readied themselves for a string of risk events later in the week. 

London’s leading index was trading 0.7% at 9,149 at the time of writing and had recovered almost all of the prior days losses.

It was another busy day of corporate updates from FTSE 100 companies on Tuesday, with Barclays, AstraZeneca and Games Workshop among the firms issuing earnings. 

Barclays shares followed a similar path to other FTSE 100 banks on Tuesday by reporting very respectable results but seeing its share price muted in response. Even a £1 billion share buyback wasn’t enough to inject some enthusiasm into the stock. That said, shares were 1.7% higher at the time of writing and continued the strong run going into results. 

“Barclays has turned in a respectable performance with notable growth on the corporate and investment banking side. Investors are being treated to a new share buyback programme and a small increase in the dividend,” explained Russ Mould, investment director at AJ Bell.

“On paper, that should have been enough to win over the market, but the shares have slipped on the results. Investors will be disappointed at the lack of upgraded earnings guidance for the full year, particularly as second quarter profit beat expectations.”

AstraZeneca 

AstraZeneca, London’s largest stock by market cap, posted characteristically strong Q2 and H1 results on Tuesday, sending shares 3.5% higher. Astra’s H1 revenue rose 11% on a CER basis, driven by particularly strong sales growth in oncology products. 

“Our strong momentum in revenue growth continued through the first half of the year and the delivery from our broad and diverse pipeline has been excellent, with 12 positive key Phase III trial readouts including for baxdrostat, gefurulimab, and Tagrisso in just the past few weeks,” said Pascal Soriot, Chief Executive Officer, AstraZeneca.

“As we enter our next phase of growth, we have pledged $50 billion to continue to grow in the US, which includes the largest manufacturing investment in AstraZeneca’s history, set for Virginia. This landmark investment reflects not only America’s importance but also our confidence in our innovative medicines to transform global health and power AstraZeneca’s ambition to deliver $80 billion revenue by 2030.”

Investors will look forward to further updates on the development of their pipeline after a string of success stories in H1 as they progress towards their long-term revenue goals.

Games Workshop

Games Workshop was the FTSE 100’s top gainer as investors cheered record results. There’s no stopping this tabletop games specialist. The group releases new products and inks new licensing agreements in 2024, helping revenue for the last year reach £617.5m and profit before tax rise to £262m. Investors were delighted and shares rose more than 5%.

Looking forward to the rest of the week, investors will have one eye on the Federal Reserve’s interest rate decision on Wednesday and the July Non-Farm Payrolls on Friday for clues as to how the economy is performing and how the Federal Reserve will approach monetary policy in the second half of 2025.

Greggs’ shares were down around 50% from their 2024 peak going into the release of today’s interim results. The baker provided little reason to start buying back into the stock on Tuusday and shares sank another 5% following the release.

Total first-half sales rose 7.0%, driven by like-for-like growth of 2.6% in company-managed shops and 4.8% in franchised outlets.

However, investors will be disappointed to see that operating profit fell 7.1% to £70.4 million, whilst profit before tax dropped 14.3% to £63.5 million. The company maintained its interim dividend at 19.0p per share.

Performance was hindered by reduced foot traffic, weather disruptions, and cost pressures.

Greggs expanded its estate by 31 net new shops, bringing the total to 2,649 outlets, and the company remains on track for 140-150 net openings in 2025, with longer-term potential for over 3,000 UK shops.

The firm said the expansion continues beyond traditional high street locations to increase convenience and customer accessibility. One would expect to see more petrol stations and train stations hosting a Greggs in the coming years. Whether this will provided the much need boost to profitability remains to be seen.

Greggs is also looking beyond its outlets to consumers’ shopping baskets. September 2025 will see Greggs launch its frozen ‘Bake at Home’ range through Tesco, complementing its existing Iceland partnership. Menu innovation focuses on healthier options, including Plenish health shots and Greek-style yoghurt, competitive breakfast and lunch deals, and growth in pizza and iced drinks categories.

“Greggs’ appetite for expansion appears undimmed despite some worrying signs in the latest results,” said Chris Beauchamp, Chief market analyst at IG.

‘Shareholders might wonder whether the continued push to add new lines is really adding much other than complexity, especially when the group remains subject to the vagaries of the British public’s spending habits. We seem well past peak Greggs euphoria, but at 11 times earnings the shares look to have plenty of upside baked in.”