A mobile interface for Penfold's pension management app and a desktop interface for Penfold's pension processing platform. The mobile screen shows "Rose's Dashboard" with a total pot value of £12,994.54, options to transfer an old pension, and add money. There's also a prompt to combine an old pension and a forecast feature. The desktop interface welcomes back "Elevate Accounting Group" and prompts to upload files. Two dashed boxes offer to "Add employees only" or "Add pension payroll files" with drag and drop functionality. There are also options to download templates for enrolment and contributions, and a section for the last upload.

A Higher-Performing, Fee-Free Alternative to The People’s Pension

Penfold and The People’s Pension are both established workplace pension providers, but Penfold stands out with significantly higher fund performance, advanced employee tools, and no hidden fees.

Penfold saves time and simplifies workplace pensions for businesses with free setup, dedicated support, and streamlined compliance tools while helping employees save for a comfortable later life.

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A comparison chart between Penfold and People’s Pension. Both have a 5-star Defaqto rating, but Penfold has a 4.7-star Trustpilot rating compared to People’s Pension’s 4.2 stars. Penfold offers additional features like a dedicated account manager, managed onboarding, in-person or online launch events, compliance support, and pension benchmarking, which People’s Pension does not provide. Both include salary sacrifice support, payroll integrations, and payroll processing support. Penfold has no business fees, while People’s Pension charges a £500 setup fee.

Why Choose Penfold Over The People’s Pension?

Penfold offers businesses and employees a superior workplace pension experience:

  • Designed for Modern Businesses

    Penfold’s tech-driven platform is built to simplify pension management for businesses. From seamless compliance tracking to reduced admin time and automated payroll processing, Penfold helps businesses work smarter. While The People’s Pension is a reliable option, its one-size-fits-all approach lacks the customisation and business-focused features Penfold offers.

  • No Business Fees

    With £0 setup or ongoing business fees, Penfold ensures affordability for businesses of all sizes, freeing up resources for growth.

  • Higher Customer Ratings

    Both Penfold and The People’s Pension hold 5-star Defaqto ratings, but Penfold’s 4.7 Trustpilot score reflects greater customer satisfaction compared to The People’s Pension’s 4.2 rating. This highlights our commitment to delivering exceptional service.

A comparison chart of default fund performance between Penfold and People’s Pension over 5 years to 31st December 2025. Penfold’s gross returns are 9.3%, significantly higher than People’s Pension’s 6.7%. Penfold’s net returns are 8.4%, also outperforming People’s Pension’s 6.2%. The chart uses colored bars to visually represent the differences, highlighting Penfold’s superior performance.

Stronger Fund Performance for Employees

Strong fund performance is key to building a secure financial future. Over the past five years, Penfold’s default fund, managed by BlackRock, has delivered annualised returns of 9.3% (gross) and 8.4% (net), outperforming The People’s Pension returns of 6.7% (gross) and 6.2% (net).

Fund performance plays a vital role in securing employees’ financial futures. Penfold’s higher gross and net returns allow employees’ savings to grow faster, providing greater long-term security.

Figures are net of investment fees but gross of provider fees. Past performance, actual or simulated, is also not a reliable indicator of future returns. All investments carry risk and your investment value can go up or down. Returns may increase or decrease as a result of currency fluctuations.


Figures for the Penfold Plan are based on a simulation, provided by BlackRock, of how the portfolio might have performed had these building blocks of the plan existed together over the last five years. It’s important to note that it cannot be definitively said exactly how this plan would have performed in the past. Simulations should not be taken as a guarantee of expected past or future performance, but are designed to be illustrative only. A full list of the assumptions made to generate the simulations is available and should be carefully considered.

The figures shown represent a weighted average of performance across 30 age cohorts (ages 36-65) to provide an overall view of member outcomes. Individual returns will vary depending on fund allocation at different points in a member’s investment journey, as well as personal fee structures. For consistency in comparison, returns have been estimated based on a typical pot size of £10,000 and an average salary of £30,000. Actual returns may differ due to factors such as specific employer-negotiated fees, individual pot sizes, and salary levels.

Returns are based on data collected by investment advisors DWA from a variety of sources, including individual providers and data published on Morningstar. Where possible, actual return data has been used; however, some assumptions were made based on underlying fund data due to availability limitations. The impact of charges has been applied on a monthly basis, which may create minor discrepancies with actual experience depending on the charging structure. DWA is happy to review and correct any discrepancies should further evidence be provided.

A comparison chart between Penfold and People’s Pension. Penfold offers 10 investment funds, an app, and additional features like finding and combining pensions, savings goals, savings nudges, shareholder voting, financial wellbeing, and education programs, which People’s Pension lacks. Both provide sustainable and Sharia funds and retirement income forecasts. Employee annual management charge: Penfold is 0.75% (lower rates for larger balances), while People’s Pension is 0.50% with up to a 0.30% rebate for pots over £50k. People’s Pension charges a £4.50 annual admin fee; Penfold has none.

A More Engaging Pension for Employees

Penfold’s platform is designed to engage and empower employees, ensuring they feel in control of their financial futures:

  • Feature-Rich App

    Unlike The People’s Pension, Penfold provides a feature-rich app that allows employees to track their savings, set goals, and manage their investments anytime, anywhere.

  • Comprehensive Financial Wellbeing Tools

    Penfold offers tools like savings nudges, retirement income forecasts, and education programs to boost employees’ financial confidence. These features are missing from The People’s Pension, which offers a more basic experience.

A composite image featuring a laptop and smartphone displaying Penfold’s pension management interface, alongside two colleagues working together in an office setting. The laptop screen shows an employee management dashboard, while the phone displays a personal pension overview. In the background, a man in a yellow sweater works on a laptop, and a woman holding a coffee cup smiles while engaging with him. The setting is a modern, well-lit office.

What Makes Penfold Stand Out?

  • Expert Support You Can Rely On

    With Penfold, businesses gain access to dedicated account managers who provide expert guidance on compliance, onboarding, and payroll processing. The People’s Pension does not offer this level of personalised support.

  • Seamless Onboarding

    Penfold ensures a smooth transition with fully managed onboarding and engaging launch events to help employees understand and maximise the value of their pension scheme.

  • Employee Engagement

    Penfold’s focus on financial wellbeing tools and transparency helps employees make the most of their pensions, improving satisfaction and retention.

  • Easy for Employees, Easy for You

    Getting stuck trying to solve clients and employees’ pension problems? Our app helps employees find and combine other pensions, and make changes to their pension independently.

Cone Accounting Logo
Cone Accounting Logo
Penfold's user-friendly approach and transparency revolutionised how we manage pensions for our clients. Penfold has come in and changed the space, showing that we could have a pension that was user friendly as well. It's really adding value to not only the employers themselves but the employees of those employers. The app is the big selling point with Penfold, having a nice clean UI that’s easy to understand for people because the vast majority of people aren’t pension literate.
Ben Nacca
Founder, Cone Accounting
Cone Accounting

How to Choose the Right Workplace Pension

Step 1: Define Your Priorities

Are you looking for higher fund performance, no business fees, or more advanced employee tools? Define your priorities to narrow down your options.

Step 2: Compare Key Features

Evaluate features, costs, and support services from providers like Penfold and The People’s Pension to see which best matches your business needs.

Step 3: Make the Switch Effortless

With Penfold, your dedicated account manager will guide you through every step, ensuring a smooth transition with minimal disruption.