How safe is my pension?

All registered pension schemes in the UK are regulated, which means they must follow certain strict rules, systems and controls. This includes how to manage the investment of your money. 

There are two main organisations responsible for setting these rules, and making sure pension providers follow them:

1. The Pensions Regulator (TPR)Opens in a new window – this regulates most workplace pensions (one set up by your employer).
2. The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA)Opens in a new window – this regulates pensions you set up yourself or one you have a contract with, such as a group personal pension.    

Pension providers must provide regular updates on their performance, including how much money the scheme has. 

The regulators also have the power to:

• inspect pension providers

• set penalties and fines if the operations and risk controls are not acceptable.  

For more information, see our guide How are pensions protected? 

How your pension money is protected depends on the type of pension you have.

If you’re not sure, use our tool to find out your pension type.

If you have a defined contribution pension at work and your employer goes out of business, your pension money is safe. This is because it’s not usually managed by your employer. 

Your pension provider will continue to manage the money you’ve already paid in unless you choose to transfer it to a new provider.

If your pension provider goes out of business, you can usually get your money back from the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)Opens in a new window

This normally covers:

• 100% of your pension money or

• up to £85,000 if you have a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), where you make the investment choices yourself.  

You might also be able to claim FSCS compensation up to £85,000 if you lose money because one of the companies your money is invested with (an investment provider) goes bust.  

If the employer that set up your defined benefit pension goes out of business, the Pension Protection Fund (PPF) will step in.

The PPF will assess whether there’s enough money in the scheme for someone else to run it, such as a different employer or an insurance company. This typically takes between 18 months and 2 years.

If the scheme does not have enough money, the Pension Protection Fund will pay you compensation payments instead. This will either be 90% or 100% of what your pension promised to pay. 

For more information, see our guides:

• What happens to your pension if your employer goes out of business

• The Pension Protection Fund explained.