For more than a decade, automatic enrolment has been one of the UK's great public policy successes. Millions more people are now saving for retirement than ever before. Yet a growing body of evidence suggests that participation alone is not enough.
L&G's Decades Ahead research* found that around nine million people aged 25-54 are not on track for an adequate retirement, despite many already saving into a pension. At the same time, millions remain disconnected from decisions that could significantly influence their long-term outcomes.
This raises an important question for the pensions industry: if automatic enrolment solved the participation challenge, what will solve the understanding challenge?
For many savers, the issue is not a lack of access to a pension. It's a lack of confidence. People often don't know how much they are saving, whether it is enough, how their pension is invested, or what retirement might realistically look like for them. As a result, pension decisions are frequently postponed in favour of more immediate priorities.
The industry has long recognised the importance of engagement. The focus is now shifting from participation to adequacy. The challenge is no longer simply helping people save. It is helping them understand whether they are saving enough.
This is where employers could have a bigger role to play. The workplace remains one of the few environments where people have regular contact with their pension.
Today, employers routinely provide training on health and safety, cyber security, compliance and wellbeing. Yet despite pension savings often becoming one of the largest financial assets a person owns, education around retirement planning largely remains either optional or not available.
What if pension education became a more established part of working life?
That question sits at the heart of Building Future You. Developed as part of the wider Decades Ahead programme, the initiative will explore whether structured pension education can help improve engagement and encourage positive pension behaviours.
The campaign begins with a workplace pilot taking place with a sample of L&G employees. All participants will receive the same support, including short video modules, to help them understand their pension priorities and identify practical next steps.
Half of participants will be required to complete the Building Future You learning as part of their workplace experience, while the other half will be asked to complete it on a voluntary basis.
L&G will compare outcomes across the two groups and the findings will help inform future support for employers, workplace pension members and wider policy discussions on pension engagement.
The pilot is not seeking to prove that education alone can solve the retirement adequacy challenge. Adequacy is influenced by many factors, including earnings, contribution levels, housing costs and wider financial pressures.
However, for savers to contribute more, consolidate pensions, review investments or plan for retirement income, they first need the confidence and knowledge to make those decisions.
The findings could have implications that extend beyond a single workplace. As policymakers consider the future of automatic enrolment and the wider retirement system, evidence on what drives meaningful engagement will become increasingly important. Indeed, one of the ambitions behind Building Future You is to help create a stronger evidence base for the conversation around pension education and financial wellbeing.
Automatic enrolment demonstrated what can happen when government, employers and industry work together to change behaviour at scale.
The next challenge may be helping people move from passive participation to active understanding. The challenge isn't getting people to save. It's helping them see decades ahead.
*On behalf of L&G, Public First conducted a large survey of 8,008 working age adults (18-69) between 11 October 2025 and 21 October 2025. The results were weighted to be nationally representative
Key risks The value of an investment and any income taken from it is not guaranteed and can go down as well as up, and the investor may get back less than the original amount invested. Assumptions, opinions, and estimates are provided for illustrative purposes only. There is no guarantee that any forecasts made will come to pass.
This financial promotion is issued by Legal & General Investment Management Ltd. Registered in England and Wales No. 02091894. Registered office: One Coleman Street, London EC2R 5AA. Authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
