The government should introduce regular 'pension health checks' alongside the rollout of pensions dashboards to boost retirement savings and help savers take action, M&G has argued.

The savings and investment firm said the checks could give people greater clarity, confidence and support when planning for retirement by helping savers understand whether they are on track and what steps they could take next.

The call follows the publication of the Pensions Commission’s interim report, which warned that 15 million people are currently under-saving for retirement, a figure that could rise to 19 million without action.

M&G also pointed to separate research, conducted in partnership with the Social Market Foundation (SMF), which suggested that low engagement is compounding the adequacy challenge.

The research found that two-fifths (40 per cent) of workers are unaware of their employer pension contributions, while many rarely review their pension savings.

M&G suggested that pension health checks should complement pensions dashboards, which are expected to give savers a 'one-stop-shop' view of all their pension pots.

However, the firm argued that more support will be needed to turn this increased awareness into action.

Under M&G’s proposal, pension health checks would be delivered at key life moments, such as starting a new job, giving individuals personalised insight into their savings, what those savings could mean for retirement, and the steps needed to improve outcomes.

M&G proposed that the checks be embedded in the workplace to help people take stock throughout their careers and ensure that the new dashboard infrastructure delivers real improvements in retirement outcomes.

The firm also argued that financial advisers would play an important role in making pension health checks meaningful by helping savers turn dashboard insights into clear, timely decisions aligned with their goals.

M&G CEO, Andrea Rossi, said: “We need to reframe retirement planning so people feel able to take small, practical steps throughout their working lives by gaining an understanding of what their current pension pots would mean, rather than risk saving too little, too late.

“Combining pension dashboards with regular pension health checks can turn awareness into action and give people the clarity and confidence to support the retirement they want.”

SMF director, Theo Bertram, added that the “real test” for pensions dashboards will be whether they lead to action.

“For many people, simply seeing their savings won’t be enough to change behaviour without further support,” he continued.

“A pension health check can help close that gap by turning awareness into simple, practical steps.

“For government, the opportunity now is to build on dashboards by using the workplace to drive greater engagement and help people make better decisions about their retirement savings over time.”

The call forms part of M&G’s wider Reframing Retirement campaign, which is aiming to challenge outdated perceptions of retirement and encourage more positive conversations about pensions and financial planning.

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