Making Cents: Will changing jobs affect my husband’s pension?

Consumer advice with Gráinne McGuinness

My husband is about to change jobs for the second time in eight years. Must we make sure his pension is OK? He had one at his old employer and his most recent job, and will have one at the new job, too. But we’ve never sat down to assess them and don’t know the full value of his pension. Where do we start? We are both mid-forties. I work as a teacher and have been permanent for 12 years, so it’s only his pension we are concerned about. – Catriona McCarthy, Macroom

It is a great idea to take control of your pension savings, and the earlier the better. The good news is that your husband already has a good few years of pension savings. The sooner people start, the better the chances of building a decent fund for retirement.