More than 40,000 people have seen retirement pension pots worth almost £2 billion disappear due to failing or rogue financial firms since 2019.
The figures have been revealed by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) which steps in when regulated financial firms fail.
However, the safety net operated by the organisation typically limits compensation to £85,000 which is often not enough to provide full redress.
The huge losses identified by the FSCS mean retirement dreams and the security of thousands of people have been left in tatters.
A spokesman said: “More than 43,000 claims have been received by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) since 2019 for total pensions losses reaching almost £2billion when authorised financial providers and advisors went out of business.
“The data highlights the extent of the problem facing workers across the UK planning for retirement, with millions of pounds in savings lost every year from authorised financial providers or advisors going out of business.”
FSCS has released the new data to shed light on the scale of the issue and to raise awareness of what can be done to reduce the risk of loss to retirement savings.
The body’s analysis found that most claims for pension losses have come from men over the age of 45.
Around 77 percent of the pension and related Sipp (Self Invested Personal Pensions) claims handled by FSCS since 2019 have been made by men, with 95 percent of all claimants aged between 45 and 75.
Martyn Beauchamp, Interim Chief Executive at FSCS, said: “The financial loss to people’s pensions that we see in our claims is substantial and has serious consequences for thousands of people every year.
“FSCS has long highlighted the importance of checking that your pension savings are protected, as these types of claims often come to us long after the financial harm may have occurred – and by that point it can often be too late to rebuild before retirement.
“At FSCS we‘re committed to helping educate consumers, so they feel confident and informed when tackling important financial decisions, such as those faced when approaching retirement. Our free pension protection checker is just one of the tools that FSCS offers to help people feel confident about their money, and we encourage everyone to visit the FSCS website and check that their retirement savings are protected.”
