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UK Pensions and Benefits Confidence Report 2026 | Quantum Advisory

UK Pensions and Benefits Confidence Report 2026

Satisfied, or used to it?

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74% of small and mid-sized schemes and employers say they are satisfied with their advisers and providers. But only 8% got through the past year without being let down.

We asked 500 UK trustees and employers how their pension schemes and employee benefits plans are actually being served. Their answers set two benchmarks and raise a question about what satisfaction has come to mean.

Two colleagues reviewing data together on a computer screen

About the report

This is our inaugural research into how small and mid-sized pension schemes and employee benefits plans are feeling and being served.

We surveyed 500 decision makers at UK pension schemes and employee benefits plans with 50 to 5,000 members. Thirty questions covering governance, endgame planning, service and benefits. Two key figures came to light.

86%

The Confidence Score.

86% of this market is confident across governance, endgame, service and benefits. Only 37% is very confident. The distance between those two numbers is where the report focuses.

77%

The Tolerance Index.

77% were let down by a provider or adviser in the past twelve months and still describe themselves as satisfied.

The report doesn’t say that the industry is failing smaller schemes. The people we surveyed do not say that. This is a report about what they have quietly learned to live with.

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Stuart Price

Satisfaction tells you what people have got used to, not what they should be getting. When being let down stops being remarkable, a high score no longer means anything.

Stuart Price, Partner, Quantum Advisory

Four findings that stood out

1. Almost everyone was let down. Almost nobody said so.

Only 8% of respondents had a clean year against the eleven service failures we listed. One in five were charged more than they were quoted. 19% had staff changes that broke continuity. 17% had errors in administration or member communications. 16% had a reporting or compliance deadline missed.

Set that against 74% satisfaction and 82% who would recommend their provider. More than three quarters of this market was let down last year and still calls the service satisfactory.

74%
Were satisfied with their provider
82%
Would recommend their provider

2. The behaviours that decide satisfaction

Ask people how satisfied they are overall and you get 74%. Name a specific behaviour and the gap opens by as much as 64%.

91%
Continuity. 91% are satisfied where the main contact rarely changes, and 64% where it changes often. Only around one plan in five has that continuity.
87%
Fee transparency. 87% satisfied where fees are transparent and predictable, and 29% where they are not.
85%
Feeling like a priority. 85% satisfied where clients believe they get the same attention as larger ones, and 21% where they do not. Fewer than half fully agree they get that attention.
47%
Are moving more slowly than they would like

3. Delay has become normal

70% lost time because a provider did not have the capacity, a quarter of them significantly.

But it doesn’t show up in the scores. 70% of satisfied respondents had been delayed, against 68% of dissatisfied ones. Even where provider capacity is the single obstacle standing between a scheme and its endgame, 81% of those respondents are satisfied with the service they receive.

Only 47% of schemes are on track for their long-term objective. Another 47% are moving more slowly than they would like.

47%
Use it and don’t know either way

4. Employers are running salary sacrifice on hope

86% of employers use salary sacrifice. Only 38% are confident it is structured optimally. 47% use it and do not know either way.

That sits alongside 32% who have already reduced or restructured benefits because of rising employment costs, and 45% who name cost and budget pressure as their biggest benefits challenge.

Get the full data. Download the report.

Where we stand

Quantum Advisory are one of the providers this market relies on, so these findings include us. Our view is that small and mid-sized schemes have settled for low standards, and that resetting the bar is a job for everyone who serves them.

What you will take away

What the report gives small and mid-sized schemes and plans.

  • The Confidence Score and the Tolerance Index – compare your arrangements to your peers
  • The four provider and adviser behaviours that swing satisfaction
  • The biggest endgame blockers and how to clear them
  • How joined up pensions and benefits advice makes a difference
  • Understand the impact of rising costs on benefits
  • Specific insight into Professional Trustee confidence
  • Insight into what “good” looks like
  • The four questions to ask about your own providers at your next meeting
Download the report
A consultant in conversation with a client

Frequently asked questions.

It is the first edition of Quantum Advisory’s research into small and mid-sized UK pension schemes and employee benefits plans. We surveyed 500 decision makers across governance, endgame planning, service quality and employee benefits.

500 UK decision makers at private and public sector pension schemes and employee benefits plans with 50 to 5,000 members. Schemes held more than £5m in assets. At least half run a final salary or defined benefit scheme. The sample splits between 250 employer side respondents, meaning HR directors, finance directors and benefits, compensation and pensions managers, and 250 trustee side respondents, meaning company and member-nominated trustees plus professional or independent trustees. Professional trustees answered on behalf of one representative client scheme.

The proportion of respondents who had at least one service failure in the past twelve months and still describe themselves as satisfied overall. In 2026 it is 77%.

An unweighted mean of four measures: confidence in governance, confidence in reaching the scheme’s long-term objective, satisfaction with advisers and providers, and confidence that the benefits package is working. For 2026 it is 86% on the broad measure and 37% on the very confident measure.

No, and we report the evidence openly. 86% say the industry serves smaller pension schemes well, and satisfaction is highest with the largest providers rather than the smallest. The finding is that firm size is a poor predictor of service quality. Four behaviours are what predict it.

Research was carried out by Censuswide independently on behalf of Quantum Advisory between July 15-28, 2026. Censuswide is a member of the Market Research Society (MRS) and the British Polling Council (BPC). They are a signatory of the Global Data Quality Pledge and follow the MRS Code of Conduct and ESOMAR principles.

Yes. Our partners are happy to go through the findings against your own arrangements. Feel free to contact us.

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Stay up to date

Join our mailing list to receive regular updates about the latest legislation and pensions and employee benefits news, as well as the latest thinking from our experts.

When you submit this form, the personal data provided will be used to respond to your query. We will hold the personal data you provide securely and may send you information in the future about our services and other updates. You will always have the opportunity to opt out by clicking the link which will be provided at the bottom of any further communications from us. If you want to learn more about how we treat your data, please see our Privacy Policy.