Helen Morrissey, Senior Pensions and Retirement Analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, comments on the number of savers whose pension benefits are at risk of going to the wrong person.

According to a survey of 2,000 people, carried out by Opinium on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown in September 2022, only 38% of people said they had kept expression of wish forms for all their pensions up to date.

Updating expression of wish forms is easy to put off but doing so risks causing real problems for your loved ones in the event of your death. Not updating these forms when your personal circumstances change means your pensions risk being paid out to someone you don’t intend. One example could be pension benefits going to an ex-partner when you may well have settled down and even had a family with someone else. Alternatively, they could go to a family member who you have since fallen out with.

We move jobs several times during our career and auto-enrolment means we likely will have a pension in every job, so care needs to be taken that these forms are updated to save your loved ones from a nasty shock and potential financial difficulties.

Full release: Six in ten risk pension benefits going to the wrong person

✉️Helen Morrissey, Hargreaves Lansdown, 07527 384 709 / helen.morrissey@hl.co.uk