FOI reference: FOI-2026-3473
You asked
We would like to request the following pension information under the Freedom of Information Act:
The most recent data you have available on the number of pension pots currently open in the UK
The most recent data you have on average number of pension pots broken down by gender
The most recent data you have on the average number of pension pots broken down by age bracket (16-24, 25-34, 35-44, 45-54, 55-64, 65+)
The number of pension pots that contain over £1million according to your most recent data
We said
Thank you for your Freedom of Information request for the most recent data on the number of open pension pots in the UK, and average number of pension pots broken down by gender, and further by age brackets, as well as the number of pension pots over £1 million.
We produce household and individual wealth estimates, using data collected on the Wealth and Assets Survey (WAS), on a biennial basis, and most recently published for Round 8 (April 2020 to March 2022). The WAS does not capture all current pension pots in the UK, it instead provides weighted estimates of population-level statistics based on a representative sample of Great Britain. Estimates of pension wealth using WAS cover private pensions wealth and do not include the value from state pensions entitlements.
Our latest estimates for pensions wealth can be found in our Pension wealth: wealth in Great Britain dataset. While we do not provide estimates on the number of active pension pots held by individuals, in Table 6.1 we report the percentage of individuals who report actively contributing to at least one private pensions scheme by sex. Table 6.5 reports those who have active private pensions with pensions wealth by sex and by age.
Unfortunately, we do not hold estimates of the number of active pension pots by gender and age or by the number valued over £1 million. In order to fulfil this request, we would need to create new information involving complex analytical and methodological judgements in order to make a valid estimate. Under the Freedom of Information Act 2000, Public Authorities are not obligated to create information in order to respond to requests. However, the following sources may be of interest to you.
WAS microdata is held on the UK Data Service (UKDS) catalogue, which can be accessed under End User Licence (EUL). Please email wealth.and.assets.survey@ons.gov.uk if you would like further information on using the dataset and restrictions around commercial use.
Please note that we have recently changed our methodology for estimating defined benefit pensions wealth. More details on this are available in our Estimating defined benefit pension wealth in Great Britain: December 2024 article. This means that the pension wealth estimates produced in Round 8 are not directly comparable with previous rounds. This would be relevant if you look to count the number of pension pots estimates to be over 1 million and compare across survey periods.
Please also note that some very high-wealth households may have been removed from the UKDS dataset to maintain anonymity as part of routine processes to reduce the risk of statistical disclosure. As a result of this, and other disclosure control measures, aggregate estimates of wealth published by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) from the WAS may not exactly match those produced by the UKDS dataset.
You may be interested in secondary analysis on the Wealth and Assets Survey, produced by Ipsos and commissioned by The Pensions Dashboard Programme, on those individuals who hold different numbers and types of pensions. Please note this analysis uses three rounds of WAS data covering 2014 to 2020, which does not include the most recent Round 8 data covering 2020 to 2022.