How much of my pension is protected?
It’s good to know that your pension savings are protected.
Any protection you have can’t prevent your savings losing investment value. But you’ll have the peace of mind that some or potentially all of your pot’s covered in case your provider fails, or you’re given bad advice.
In this guide, find out about the pension protections in place, when you might need to rely on it, and how to make a claim if you need to.
What protections are in place for my pension?
The pension protections available to you depend on what type of pension you have.
Defined contribution pensions are usually covered under the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).
That includes:
- personal pensions;
- private pensions;
- workplace pensions; and
- Self-Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs).
Annuities also get FSCS protection. These are a type of insurance product you can buy using your pension savings. In return, you get a fixed income, often for life.
Whichever type you have, your provider must be regulated to be covered under the FSCS. That'll be by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in most cases. But it could also be the Prudential Regulation Authority (PRA).
You can make a claim under the FSCS if your provider fails and becomes unable to pay out to you.
How much pension protection you’ll get varies between these types of pensions, as shown in the table below.
For example, with a PensionBee pension, up to 100% of your pension’s value is protected by the FSCS. That’s because the PensionBee holdings are structured as long-term insurance contracts.
Money held in your pension is managed by some of the world’s largest money managers, such as BlackRock and State Street.
In the event that one of these money managers fails, the FSCS covers long-term insurance contracts at 100% of the claim value. There’s no upper cap. This is the same for annuities.
However, that isn’t the case for all pensions. With SIPPs, you’ll get up to £85,000 of cover if your provider fails.
Are defined benefit pensions protected?
Yes, defined benefit pensions - also known as ‘final salary’ pensions - are protected.
However, they don’t benefit from FSCS pension protection. Instead, these are covered by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).
This can come into place if your employer who funds the pension becomes insolvent.
The PPF may transfer your pension to a new provider or insurer, or to the PPF itself. Whoever takes over, you must be paid a minimum of 90% of your promised pension.
Is my State Pension protected?
No, the State Pension’s not protected by the FSCS or the PPF.
That’s because the government provides the State Pension. As a result, it’s the government’s responsibility to protect it and ensure that you’re paid it, if eligible.
You’ll receive the full new State Pension if you have 35 qualifying years on your National Insurance (NI) record.
You need at least 10 years on your NI record to receive any new State Pension.
You can check whether you’re eligible by getting a State Pension forecast on the government website.
Circumstances where pension protection is important
Hopefully, you’ll never have to access the available pension protections.
However, there are some common circumstances when you may.
Your pension provider fails
As described above, if your defined contribution pension provider fails, you could be covered under the FSCS.
How much cover you’ll receive depends on what type of pension you have.
Your employer becomes insolvent
Defined benefit pensions are sponsored by your employer. So, if your employer fails or becomes insolvent, it could put savings in a defined benefit scheme at risk.
These savings are covered by the PPF.
Bad pension advice
You may take regulated advice that turns out to be inappropriate in your circumstances, and could cost you financially.
The FSCS covers up to £85,000 per person, per product, for bad pension advice.
The process for FSCS protection
Follow these steps to make a claim with the FSCS.
- Confirm that you’re eligible - double-check that your pension type’s covered, and that your provider’s regulated by either the FCA or PRA.
- Gather documents and information from your provider - this includes two forms of identification, bank account details, and then specific product details for your pension. See what you’ll need to gather on this FSCS template. You’ll need to submit evidence digitally. You can do this by scanning the documents in, or using your phone or tablet’s camera to take a clear picture.
- Create an account on the FSCS website - you’ll need a username and unique password. It can take between one and two hours to make a claim. But you can also save your progress and return at any time.
- Track your case online - you can keep an eye on what’s happening in your case through your online account.
What information would I need to provide to the FSCS?
What you’ll need to provide depends on the type of pension you’re claiming for.
You can check what supporting documents you might need on the FSCS website.
Would the FSCS contact me automatically?
No, in most cases, the FSCS won’t proactively contact you about a pension claim. You’d need to do this manually.
They might do so when a bank or building society goes bust. However, that generally isn’t the case for pensions.
Risk warning
As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.
Last edited: 08-09-2026
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