The Pensions Regulator has recently gone on the offensive claiming that many pension schemes are failing to give their members adequate information when they come up to retirement. The research largely found that some defined contribution schemes were not being forthcoming with information about how individuals could access their pension pot as well as invest it into an appropriate annuity to suit their needs.

This is certainly a serious issue as the survey found that up to 30% of pension schemes could in fact be in breach of pension regulations and therefore may be susceptible to large fines by the authorities. However, this does not tell the full extent of the issue as 57% of those schemes surveyed were deemed to have “scope for improvement’ while another 6% had serious problems with their literature or retirement information procedures.

Who does this affect? Well, it is estimated that around 2.5 million individuals living in the UK contribute to a defined contributions scheme. However, this could just be the tip of the iceberg as a further 10 million could join this scheme when the governments new pension provisions get introduced in 2012. So the short of it is this can potentially impact a huge number of people now, but increasingly in the future.

It is certainly important to shop around to ensure that you make your pension pot go as far as possible however in reality it is the minority of pension holders that actually do shop around. In some respects this is what your pension scheme is banking on and a pit fall that you should make sure you stay clear of. Remember its your hard earned money and with a few simple clicks you could make it work that little bit more for you so you can enjoy a few more luxuries when you retire.