Pension quiz: Which animal are you?

Q6: Do you feel prepared for retirement?

A.    Yes, I feel confident about it 
B.    I feel more prepared as time goes on 
C.    No, not at all 
D.    I’d rather not think about it

Q7: Have you ever sought financial advice or guidance?

A.    Yes, from a financial adviser or organisations like MoneyHelper and Pension Wise
B.    Not, but I intend to
C.    No, I only chat with family and friends about finances
D.    Never

Q8: How much do you contribute to your workplace pension when you get paid?

A.    I contribute the maximum I can afford to meet my savings target
B.    I pay more than 5% to my workplace pension 
C.    I pay the minimum 5% to my workplace pension 
D.    Nothing, I opted out of my workplace pension

What animal are you?

If you mainly answered A you’re a wise owl.
If you mainly answered B you’re a squirrel saver.
If you mainly answered C you’re a savings sloth. 
If you mainly answered D you’re an overwhelmed ostrich. 
 
Find out more about your animal below.

Wise owl

Congratulations, you’re a rare bird indeed. You may be sticking to a plan, and you could be on track to meet your savings target or even surpass it. You check your pots regularly and may even have combined them into one to make your money easier to manage.  

Continue checking how you’re doing against your targets and you could be flying high when retirement comes. You may want to seek regular financial guidance from independent organisations such as MoneyHelper to ensure your decisions continue producing the desired results.

Squirrel saver 

As a squirrel, you’ve made saving a way of life. You slowly and steadily put money away for the winter years. You might be meeting, or maybe even exceeding, your savings goal.

If you haven’t already, you may want to seek financial guidance from an independent organisation such as MoneyHelper. They could advise you on how to diversify your portfolio and create even greater financial security.  

Keep up the good work—and remember, saving for retirement is a marathon, not a sprint.

Savings sloth

You’re slowly moving in the right direction, which is the most important thing when it comes to your pension. While you’re contributing to your workplace pension, you might not have set a target or understand how much you’d need to retire comfortably. You rarely think about retirement but when you do you feel unprepared for it.  
 
To level up, you need clarity.  You need to know where you are right now and where you want to be when you retire. And the good news is this doesn’t have to be complicated.  
 
The easiest place to start is to log in to your account and check how much you have in your pot. After that, you can track down any lost pensions you might have from previous jobs to find out your total savings balance. Then you can use our pension calculator to find out if you’re on track for retirement. 
 
If you only talk to friends and family about finances, consider talking to an independent organisation like MoneyHelper.

Overwhelmed ostrich

Ostriches are famous for burying their heads in the sand – is that how you behave when it comes to saving for retirement?  
 
People in this category have little or nothing saved for retirement and intend to rely on the State Pension. It’s understandable. The cost-of-living crisis sees many of us struggling to make our money last until the end of the month, let alone put some aside for the future.  
 
However, the State Pension is currently capped at £203.85 per week, which comes to roughly £10,600 a year. That might not be enough for your needs. So, if you’ve opted out of your workplace pension scheme, you should consider opting back in if you can afford to. Taking small actions now could lead to a bigger payoff later. Plus, you get matched contributions from your employer as well as tax relief if you’re eligible.  
 
You might have pension pots from previous jobs which you can easily track down. And they might have grown to be worth more than you think.  
 
You’ll then have a clear picture of your savings situation, and that’s the first step to a better financial future.  
 
Discover how to track down old pension pots. 
 
If you’re not sure where to begin, consider taking financial guidance from an independent organisation such as MoneyHelper.

Published 20 November 2023