Online pension provider Penfold has reached a major milestone after surpassing £1 billion in assets under administration (AuA), doubling its total in just 14 months. The fast-growth fintech, founded in 2018 to modernise pension saving for UK consumers and employers, now serves more than 110,000 savers and 5,000 businesses.
The company reached its first £500m in AuA over five years, but a surge in new users and employer uptake has propelled the latest leap. Co-founder and CEO Chris Eastwood says the achievement reflects both the team behind the platform and a shift in how people want to manage their retirement savings.
“It’s a huge moment for us,” Eastwood said. “We built Penfold from scratch to make pensions easier, clearer, and more rewarding. Hitting £1bn shows how strongly that mission resonates. We’re incredibly grateful to our team, our customers, and our investors, and this is still only the beginning.”
In a post marking the milestone, Eastwood highlighted three key drivers of Penfold’s rapid growth: the “exceptional” team that has built and scaled the product, the trust placed in the platform by tens of thousands of savers, and the “quiet magic of compounding” a reminder of Penfold’s focus on helping people start saving earlier to improve long-term outcomes.
The company has also benefitted from strong community support. Thousands of customers invested directly in Penfold during its Crowdcube fundraising rounds, while the company continues to attract institutional backers looking for exposure to the UK’s digital-pensions sector.
Penfold’s milestone comes with solid user feedback. According to customer reviews on Good Money Guide, Penfold pensions scores highly for ease of use, customer support, and transparency. Users consistently praise the app’s simple interface, clear fee structure, and helpful communication during transfers. Reviews also highlight the appeal of instant top-ups, flexible contributions, and the ability to track projected retirement outcomes in real time.
This growing reputation for simplicity and accessibility has helped Penfold stand out in a market often criticised for complexity and poor user experience.
Despite its success, Eastwood is clear that the company sees £1bn as a checkpoint rather than an endpoint. “Our industry needs a whole lot more innovation and change to deliver better outcomes for savers,” he noted. “This is the challenge which energises us every day.”
Penfold plans to continue expanding its workplace and self-employed pension offering, while encouraging public feedback on what the industry should improve next.
As the company looks ahead, the message is clear: making pensions easier is just the start, and Penfold believes the biggest opportunities for change are still to come.
Richard is the founder of the Good Money Guide (formerly Good Broker Guide), one of the original investment comparison sites established in 2015. With a career spanning two decades as a broker, he brings extensive expertise and knowledge to the financial landscape.
Having worked as a broker at Investors Intelligence and a multi-asset derivatives broker at MF Global (Man Financial), Richard has acquired substantial experience in the industry. His career began as a private client stockbroker at Walker Crips and Phillip Securities (now King and Shaxson), following internships on the NYMEX oil trading floor in New York and London IPE in 2001 and 2000.
Richard’s contributions and expertise have been recognized by respected publications such as The Sunday Times, BusinessInsider, Yahoo Finance, BusinessNews.org.uk, Master Investor, Wealth Briefing, iNews, and The FT, among many others.
Under Richard’s leadership, the Good Money Guide has evolved into a valuable destination for comprehensive information and expert guidance, specialising in trading, investment, and currency exchange. His commitment to delivering high-quality insights has solidified the Good Money Guide’s standing as a well-respected resource for both customers and industry colleagues.
To contact Richard, please ask a question in our financial discussion forum.
