That represents an increase of around £600 million from £2.6 billion in Q1 2025. Employer contributions also increased significantly, rising from £6.2 billion in Q1 2025 to £6.8 billion in Q1 2026, underlining the scale of financial support businesses are making towards employees’ retirement savings.
Active membership of private sector DC schemes edged up by 30,000 over the same period to 11.5 million and the figures also highlight the growing stock of pensions left behind as workers change jobs. Deferred membership of private sector DC schemes increased from 22.1 million in Q1 2025 to 22.9 million in Q1 2026, a rise of more than three quarters of a million in a year.
Damon Hopkins, Head of DC Workplace Savings at Broadstone, commented: “The continued growth in workplace pension saving is encouraging, with millions of employees now routinely putting money aside for retirement and employee contributions reaching £3.2 billion in the first quarter alone.
“Employers are making an enormous financial contribution to later-life savings too, making it all the more important that businesses ensure this money is being used as effectively as possible, through well-designed pension provision, strong governance and meaningful employee engagement.
“Auto-enrolment has transformed pension participation, but participation and adequacy are not the same thing. For many workers, particularly those on lower or middle incomes, the more important question is whether the amounts being saved today will ultimately provide the standard of living they expect in retirement.
“Employers have an important role to play here. Workplace pensions are one of the most valuable benefits they provide, but there is an opportunity to go beyond simply meeting minimum contribution requirements by helping employees understand what they and their employer are contributing, what that could mean for their retirement income and whether they may need to save more.
“The continued rise in deferred membership also reflects an increasingly mobile workforce, with employees accumulating pension pots as they move between jobs. Consolidation and pensions dashboards should make those savings easier to manage, but the wider challenge is ensuring workers remain engaged with their pension throughout their careers.
“As attention increasingly turns from pension participation towards pension adequacy, employers that communicate effectively and encourage employees to engage with their long-term savings can play an important part in helping improve retirement outcomes.”
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