Some 10 million people in the UK stand to retire with £15,000 less if the government scraps the pension dashboard, according to research by campaign group 38 Degrees.
The campaign group calculated the £15,000 figure by looking at government data that suggested there will be 49.6 million dormant pension pots worth £757bn by 2050. Dividing £757bn by 49.6 million gives an average pot size of about £15,000.
38 Degrees hosts the petition to save the pensions dashboard, which has now gathered 174,690 signatures.
The petition is addressed to secretary of state for work and pensions Esther McVey (pictured) and has called on the government not to “scrap” the project.
It came after McVey was reported to be preparing to “kill off” the government’s involvement in the scheme during parliament’s summer recess.
Within a week of its creation, it had gathered more than 82,000 signatures.
38 Degrees campaign manager Lorna Greenwood said: “This research proves that millions of people stand to lose hard earned savings if the government breaks its promise to provide the pensions dashboard.
“There is huge public concern over how difficult it is for ordinary people to keep track of their pensions. Millions of people will face impossible decisions during old age like whether to eat or heat their homes.”
She added: “Two years ago the government promised to provide a website by 2019 that would help keep track of their hard earned pensions. They now need to honour that promise and deliver the pensions dashboard on time.”