Nearly 1 in 5 people (19%) never access information about their pensions, according to a survey by Populus for the ABI.

The trade body said its survey of 2,008 consumers in November found many people were in the dark about their pension and face failing to get the retirement they want.

The ABI says the planned Pensions Dashboard will be critical to engaging pension savers with their pensions and improving this figure.

The Pensions Schemes Bill, which will include the dashboard initiative among other measures, is currently making its way through the Committee Stage in the House of Lords.

The study also found that the ways in which people access information about their pensions varied significantly across the generations with people using a mix of digital, post and phone.

The ABI says generational difference suggests a need for multiple dashboards to serve different groups.

• 18 - 34 year olds prefer a mobile banking app – 54%
• 35 – 54 year olds prefer online banking – 41%
• 55 and overs prefer their pension providers’ website – 54%

This suggests “no clear winner” on preferred digital platform, said the ABI.

Rob Yuille, assistant director, head of Long-Term Savings at the Association of British Insurers, said: “People need support to engage with their pensions to make sure their retirement lives up to their expectations. Pensions Dashboards will be critical to achieving this.

“To make it easier for people to engage, both Government guidance services and private companies, like pension providers and banks, need to be able to offer Pension Dashboards.

“Employers, charities and trade unions could also provide these services, so that people can access the information wherever is comfortable and convenient for them.”

Some 20% of people wanted to access information about their pension through a government service while 49% of people said they would prefer their pension provider.

About 1 in 5 adults admitted to having lost a pension pot. Research by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) suggests these are worth at least £19.4bn.

Without Pensions Dashboards, the Department of Work and Pensions estimates that 50m pensions pots will be lost or dormant by 2050, according to the ABI.