- In 2025, the prevalence of Defined Contribution pensions accounted for 69% of all occupational pensions from current employment, unchanged from 2024. The prevalence of Defined Benefit pensions also remained unchanged from 2024 (26%) while just 5% had hybrid pension schemes (neither a full Defined Benefit scheme nor a full Defined Contribution scheme but has some of the characteristics of each).
- At an overall level females were more likely than males to have a Defined Benefit pension scheme – 29% of females compared with 23% of males.
- Rates of Defined Benefit occupational pension cover was highest for the older age groups, with more than one-third (35%) of people aged 55 to 69 years having a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current employment. By comparison, of employees aged 25 to 34 years, just 16% of males and 23% of females had a Defined Benefit occupational pension from their current employment.
- Almost one in five (18%) employees stated that they had been contributing to their occupational pension scheme in their current job for twenty years or more, while over four in ten (41%) had been in their pension scheme in their current employment for less than five years.
- One-third (33%) of Defined Benefit occupational pension holders have been part of their pension scheme for 20 years or more, compared with just 13% of Defined Contribution pension holders. Similarly, 36% of pension holders with Defined Benefit pension schemes from previous employments, have been in them for 20 years or more, while less than one in nine (11%) Defined Contribution holders from previous employments have been in them for this duration.
- Some 46% of older employees aged 55 to 69 are paying into their current occupational pension for 20 years or more, while three in ten (30%) occupational pension holders aged 45 to 54 years were in their pension scheme for this duration.
- Over seven in ten (73%) of 25 to 34 year olds with an occupational pension in current employment, have been a member of their pension scheme for 5 years or less, while just over one in five (22%) have been in their pension scheme between 5 and 9 years.
- Almost half of employees (48%) without an occupational pension said that their employer did not offer a pension scheme, down from 53% in the same period in 2024. One in six (17%) had chosen not to join their employer's pension scheme. A further 13% of employees without an occupational pension were not eligible to join their employer’s occupational pension scheme while one in six (16%) said that they had a pension from a previous employment.
- Workers most affected by their employer not offering a pension scheme were females aged 20 to 24 years (54%), compared with 45% of males of similar age with no occupational pension from their current employment. Those in part-time employment were more likely to be in employment where the employer does not offer an occupational pension scheme – over half (55%) of part-time workers who did not have occupational pension coverage from their current job, said that their employer did not offer them one, compared with under less than half (45%) of their full-time equivalents.
- Analysis by broad occupational group shows that employees in the Elementary1 and Sales and Customer Service broad occupational groups were most likely not to have occupational pension cover due to their employer not offering such a scheme, 62% and 56% respectively, followed closely by employees in Skilled Trades (53%).
- Of self-employed people with occupational pension cover from previous employment, over one-quarter (26%) were Defined Benefit pension schemes, while almost seven in ten (69%) were Defined Contribution.
1 Elementary occupations involve the performance of simple and routine tasks which may require the use of hand-held tools and considerable physical effort. Examples include cleaning, restocking supplies and performing basic maintenance tasks, helping in kitchens and performing simple tasks in food preparation, delivering messages or goods, etc.
