Is it too late to start a pension in your forties?
Author – Michael Morris
One of the questions I am frequently asked is, ‘Is it too late to start a pension?’
The good news is — it is definitely not too late. What really matters is understanding what your retirement might look like and how to get there from where you are now.
The Reality Check
Let’s start with the basics. The State Pension right now is about £12,000 a year — roughly £1,000 a month. Imagine if you retired tomorrow — could you live comfortably on that? For most people, the answer is no. That’s why it’s so important to think about how much extra you’ll need.
The Real Question
So how much extra do you actually need?
The truth is, it’s a lot more than in the past. Retirement today looks very different from what it used to. It’s no longer about slowing down — it’s about living fully for another 20 or 25 years.
Retirement Has Changed
Being an ‘old-age pensioner’ isn’t what it used to be. People are living longer, healthier lives — and they’re staying active. So even in your late 60s or 70s, you’re still spending money on hobbies, sports, travel, socialising —all the things that make life enjoyable.
Living Longer
By the mid-2040s, someone retiring in their mid-60s might reasonably expect to live into their mid-80s to late-80s, with women often reaching into the late 80s or early 90s.
That’s roughly 20 to 25 years after your final payslip —almost a quarter of your life spent in retirement. The real question is, how do you fund a lifestyle that could last two more decades?
The Changing Journey
The challenge is that the path to retirement has shifted. People are starting work later because they’re in education longer. They’re buying homes later — and paying them off later too. In fact, a survey by SunLife found that about 23% of homeowners aged over 50 have not yet paid off their mortgage. Out of this group, around 13% were already retired (Source: SunLife Mortgage Survey, July 2024). So those traditional milestones — mortgage paid, kids moved out, retirement begins — don’t always line up like they used to.
Family Responsibilities
And even if you’ve cleared the mortgage by 65, you might not be completely financially free. Many parents are still helping adult children. According to the Institute for Fiscal Studies (IFS), the share of 25- to 34-year-olds living with a parent rose from 13% in 2006 to 18% in 2024 (Source: Hotel of Mum and Dad? Co-residence with parents among those aged 25–34, Institute for Fiscal Studies, January 2025). For many, those financial responsibilities don’t end when work does.
The Pension Gap
Here’s the real concern. The Financial Conduct Authority in its Financial Lives Survey 2024 reported that 17% of UK adults overall had no private pension provision (Source: Financial Lives 2024 survey, Financial Conduct Authority, May 2025). If you’re relying just on the State Pension — that’s about £1,000 a month — it’s going to be tight. And we already know that one in ten over-65s are at risk of poverty. This shows just how important it is to plan — even if you’re starting later than you’d hoped.
The Message
The key takeaway is simple: it’s never too late to start. Even starting a pension at 45 is still absolutely worthwhile — but it’s important to be intentional about it. The earlier you take action, the more choices you’ll have later. If you haven’t started yet, don’t panic — just start now. Your future self will thank you.
Taking the Next Step
If you’re ready to take action — great. Getting started is often easier than you think.
A good financial adviser or wealth planner can help you figure out what you actually want your retirement to look like — not just the age you stop working, but the kind of life you want to live.
From there, they can show you your options — whether that’s a workplace pension, a personal plan, or other ways to invest for the long term. Together, you can build a plan that fits your budget, your timeline, and your comfort with risk. And just as importantly, they’ll help you review it regularly — because life changes, and your plan should change with it. The key is to start. Once you do, the rest starts to fall into place.
What’s Holding You Back?
If you accept the principle that it is not too late to start, that the state pension alone won’t be enough, and that the earlier you take action the better — then it’s worth asking one last question:
What’s actually stopping you?
For some people, it’s that feeling that markets have already run up too far — that it is not the right time to invest. But the truth is, markets never feel cheap. There’s always a reason to wait. The most successful investors aren’t the ones who find the perfect moment — they’re the ones who get started, stay consistent, and let time do the heavy lifting.
If you’ve been hesitating, maybe the best next step isn’t to wait for the perfect time — it’s to take a small, sensible step today. Because the only real mistake is waiting until tomorrow to start securing your future.
If you would like to book a no-obligation 1-2-1 meeting to discuss your pensions and retirement plan, please get in touch via michael.morris@sjpp.co.uk or 07906 151525.
The value of an investment with St. James's Place will be directly linked to the performance of the funds you select, and the value can therefore go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invested.
Although the content of the article was correct at the time of writing, the accuracy of the information should not be relied upon, as it may have been subject to subsequent tax, legislative or event changes.
