ILLUSTRATION: NAOMI WILKINSON. *MAKE MY MONEY MATTER, 2020; **LANSONS AND OPINIUM RESEARCH, REPORT: LIFE THROUGH COVID-19, 2020; †SHARE ACTION, 2020
WHEN I HEAR THE WORD pension, I immediately switch off. I have never been a numbers person and have to admit that even after being self-employed for three years, I have yet to set one up! However, when I read that having a sustainable pension can reduce your carbon footprint 27 times more than giving up flying and becoming a vegan combined,* my interest was piqued. I am not alone: in research, 64 per cent of people said they want to know that their money is not funding damage to the environment.** Of all the money invested in the UK, approximately half comes from our pension savings† - and that money can be used as a positive force, or a negative one. In most cases, your employer enrols you in a default pension.