Only 9 per cent of Gen Z adults (aged 18-24) have ever used their pension provider’s app, despite 81 per cent using mobile banking as their main way to manage money, according to research by Penfold.

The new report, What Gen Z actually wants from their pension, mapped the six gaps between what Gen Z said they want and what UK workplace pensions delivered.

It found that only 6 per cent of Gen Z with a defined contribution (DC) pension checked their pension provider’s app in the last 12 months.

Similarly, only 8 per cent had checked their state pension forecast on the government's website.

The findings suggested that pensions were not keeping pace with how Gen Z expected to manage their finances.

Penfold CEO, Chris Eastwood, said: “Gen Z is not disengaged from money as they’re checking bank balances, moving money and learning about finance every day. But when it comes to pensions, the industry still expects them to engage through channels that do not feel natural to them.”

In addition, Penfold’s research found that 45 per cent of young UK savers relied on social media as their main source of financial information, ahead of provider emails (33 per cent) and in‑app messages (29 per cent) – findings that Eastwood said should be “a wake-up call” for the industry.

The report also highlighted a confidence gap, with more than a quarter (27 per cent) of Gen Z rating their pension knowledge as “10 out of 10”, despite only 10 per cent passing a basic literacy test.

For instance, 59 per cent of Gen Z believed automatic enrolment (AE) alone was sufficient for retirement saving, despite projections that AE minimum contributions would provide a retirement income of about £13,000 a year for Gen Z, just under the Retirement Living Standards’ minimum level (£13,400 a year) for one person.

Eastwood said: “The confidence gap matters because young savers may think they are on track when they are not. AE has helped millions of people start saving, but it does not mean the job is done.”

Employers should not assume that silence means confidence, he said. If young workers are not asking questions about pensions, it may mean the information is not reaching them in the right way.

Eastwood told the pensions industry that improving engagement among younger savers will depend on making workplace pensions “clear, simple and available” on the digital platforms they already use.

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