What happens to my pension if I leave a job or opt out?

Leaving a pension usually just means you stop paying in. This will happen if your employer set up your pension and you:

• ask to opt out or
• stop working for your employer.

If you set up your own pension, you can normally choose to stop your contributions at any time – just let your provider know. 

You don’t have to save into a pension, but opting out usually means you’ll miss out on:

• employer contributions – extra money into your pension from your employer

• tax relief – tax you’d normally pay is added to your pension instead.

This means opting out is often like turning down part of your pay.  

You’re also more likely to have a comfortable retirement if you can save over the longest time possible. The State Pension is unlikely to give you enough money by itself – even if you qualify for the highest amount. 

For more information, see our guide Why should I save into a pension?

If you’re struggling, paying into your pension might not seem like a priority. But if you stop, you’ll usually have less money to live on in later life.

Before stopping your pension contributions completely, ask your employer or provider if there’s a minimum amount you need to pay in to keep it active.  

For more help, use our:

• Benefits calculator to check you’re not missing out on any payments, grants or discounts 

• Budget planner to spot other ways to save

• Debt advice locator tool to find free help if you’ve missed an important payment.   

If you do reduce or stop your contributions, set a regular reminder to check if you can afford to restart. 

If you stop paying into a pension, your money and benefits will continue to be managed by your provider. This is often called a ‘deferred pension’ and you'll be a ‘deferred member’. 

To track down pensions you might have forgotten about, see our guide How to find old or lost pensions. 

Even though no more money is paid in, your pension can still go up (or down).

If you have a defined contribution pension  (the most common type), it might: 

• grow if the investments perform well 

• reduce if the investments perform badly or don’t grow enough to cover the management fees.  

You’ll be sent statements so you can keep track, usually every year. The longer the money in the pension scheme is invested, the more time it has to grow.

If you have a defined benefit pension (often called a final salary or career average scheme), you’ll get a guaranteed amount based on your length of service and salary.

This will usually grow each year – typically in line with inflation – so its value doesn’t decrease over time.   

To get your pension contributions refunded, you usually need to ask within:

• 30 days of leaving a defined contribution pension 

• two years of leaving a defined benefit pension.

You won’t get any money your employer has paid in. If you ask after these deadlines, you normally won’t be able to access the money until you’re 55 (57 from April 2028).

For more information, see our guide How to get your pension contributions refunded.

If you stop paying into a pension, one option is to transfer it to another scheme. For example, you could transfer your existing pension:

• into a scheme your new employer sets up

• to a provider of your choice, so all your pensions are in one place.

There’s always a risk of losing valuable benefits by transferring your pension, as your existing pension provider might offer unbeatable features. For example, you might be giving up: 

• higher guaranteed income rates than you could get elsewhere

• a lower minimum pension age – so you’d need to wait longer to access your money.

You should also compare fees and charges before transferring, to check you’re not moving to a more expensive scheme.    

Before considering a transfer, see our guide about pension transfers.