How Penfold and Royal London Compare
Penfold and Royal London are both trusted workplace pension providers, but Penfold sets itself apart with superior fund performance, more employee tools, and a higher customer rating.
With no business fees, transparent employee charges, and a focus on financial wellbeing, Penfold is designed to simplify pension management for businesses and help employees to save towards a comfortable later life.
Why Choose Penfold Over Royal London?
Penfold delivers a smarter, more tailored pension experience for businesses and employees:
- No Business Fees
Unlike Royal London, which may apply fees for schemes with lower contributions, Penfold offers £0 setup and ongoing fees. This makes Penfold an affordable choice for businesses of all sizes, including growing or cost-conscious companies.
- Dedicated Account Managers
Penfold provides every business with a dedicated account manager for guidance through setup, payroll integration, compliance, and ongoing management. Royal London does not offer this level of personalised, hands-on support.
- High Ratings
Penfold proudly holds a 4.7-star rating on Trustpilot, showcasing our commitment to outstanding customer satisfaction and service excellence. Additionally, our 5-star Defaqto rating underscores the strength and quality of our pension offering for businesses.
Fund Performance: Helping Employees Save More
Strong fund performance is critical to securing employees’ financial futures. Over the past five years, Penfold’s default fund, managed by BlackRock, has delivered annualised returns of 9.3% (gross) and 8.4% (net), significantly outperforming Royal London’s 7.7% (gross) and 6.9% (net).
Penfold’s strong recent performance helps employees feel more confident about their pension savings – supporting engagement and helping businesses attract and retain top talent.
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.
Advanced Tools for Employees
- Modern Pension App
Penfold’s app lets employees track savings, combine pensions, set goals, and receive smart nudges. Royal London’s app lacks features like savings goals, nudges, and shareholder voting – leaving employees with fewer ways to engage with their pension.
- 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.
What Makes Penfold Stand Out?
- Strong Fund Returns
Penfold’s default fund hs outperformed Royal London’s, helping employees grow their pensions faster.
- Dedicated Support
Every business is assigned an experienced account manager, providing expert guidance through every step of the process.
- Employee Engagement
Penfold’s greater choice of interactive tools and financial wellbeing drives employee satisfaction and retention.
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.
How to Choose the Right Workplace Pension
Step 1: Assess Your Needs
Are you looking for higher fund performance, no business fees, or tools to engage employees?
Step 2: Compare Providers
Evaluate Penfold and Royal London on fees, features, and fund returns to determine which meets your goals.
Step 3: Plan Your Switch
Penfold’s dedicated account managers ensure a seamless transition, minimising disruptions for your business.
This comparison is based on publicly available information and internal analysis as of May 2025. We aim to ensure fairness and accuracy. If you believe any details are incorrect, please contact us.
We encourage you to visit each provider’s website or speak to their teams directly to understand what’s best for your business.
