Two-thirds (64 percent) of those who didn’t check their pension benefits simply ‘didn’t think about it’ or only worried about their base salary.

Brits risk losing out by not checking their pension benefits when switching jobs, according to new research from Fidelity International. Jobseekers spend hours each week hunting for their dream job, but it seems they spare little thought for their pension benefits. Just one in four (24 percent) check what pension contributions are on offer before accepting a new job. Women are even less likely to look into the details of the new pension scheme, with just one in five (20 percent) interested in what contributions their next boss will make, compared with 27 percent of men.

Brits seem to be in the dark about their workplace benefits. When asked why they didn’t check their pension before accepting a new role, almost half (46 percent) simply ‘did not think about it’. Meanwhile, one in five (21 percent) admit they didn’t check any benefits except the base salary. Richard Parkin, Head of Pensions Policy at Fidelity International, said: “Moving up the career ladder and landing a new job is most often associated with getting a bigger salary.

But you might get a nasty surprise if your pension turns out to be less than with your previous employer. It is worrying that just one in four people check the details of their new pension when changing jobs. Some employers are more generous than others and you could find a large part of your pay rise is offset by reduced contributions.“For example, if you moved job and increased your salary from £30,000 to £35,000 but saw your employer contribution go from 10 percent to 5 percent you’d be missing out on £1,250 of pension contributions each year. You could make up the difference yourself but after allowing for tax and National Insurance that amounts to around 30 percent of the increase in your take home pay. So that pay rise wasn’t as great as it first seemed. So even though your new pay packet may seem attractive on the surface, be careful that you don’t find yourself coming up short.”