Just 47 per cent of British adults are aware that their pension is invested, Hargreaves Lansdown has found.

The investment and savings platform’s latest survey of 1,200 people revealed that 23 per cent said their pension wasn’t invested in the markets, while the remaining 30 per cent said they were unsure.

Hargreaves Lansdown found that there was a gender gap, with 56 per cent of men aware their pension was invested, compared to 40 per cent of women.

The firm said that taking time to check in on how a pension is performing can give savers and investors the confidence of knowing whether they are on track for the retirement they want to whether they need to boost contributions to bridge the gap.

Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, stated: "A pension is the longest investment most of us will hold and yet not many of us even realise it.

"The latest research from Hargreaves Lansdown shows only 47 per cent of pension holders actually realise their pension is invested in the stock markets. A further 23 per cent said that it wasn’t and the remainder were unsure.

"To some extent this is understandable – people are auto-enrolled into a pension, and this can mean many do not actively engage with it. There’s also a language issue here - we talk about ‘saving’ into a pension, rather than ‘investing’ in one.

"It’s a confusion that must be dealt with if people are to make the most from their retirement, as investing is one of the best ways to build your wealth."

This article originally appeared in our sister publication MoneyAge.

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