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PensionBee

Online pension provider

101-200 employees
  • Fintech
  • B2C
  • Personal finance
  • Investing
209 Blackfriars Road, London SE1 8NL

Company mission

To make pensions simple so that everyone can look forward to a happy retirement.

Female leader

51% female employees

15% employee growth in 12 months

Otta's take

Theo Margolius headshot

Theo Margolius

COO of Otta

PensionBee is a London-based pension provider. The company is authorized and regulated by the FCA and it serves nearly 1 million customers.

They differentiate themselves by providing customers with a wide range of pension plans based on their financial needs and risk appetite, which are managed by global investment managers such as BlackRock, HSBC, and State Street Global Advisors. It is also free for customers to transfer their pensions, making it an attractive choice.

After the company became listed on London Stock Exchange in April 2021, it is continuing to see post-IPO growth, with over £3 billion in assets. The company has invested heavily in its marketing and technology, and it is well set to see further expansion.

Benefits

  • End of year bonus and generous equity schemes
  • Fully remote working enabled environment and culture
  • 25 days annual leave, 5 extra days for people with caring responsibilities and additional leave days for people living with a disability
  • LifeWorks, UK Healthcare Cash Plan, Thrive, Bippit, SmartHealth Virtual GP and Income Protection Insurance
  • Regular company-wide sessions: CEO Session, Show & Tell, Lunch & Learn ad varied D&I agenda; giving you an opportunity to share your ideas and learn about other areas of the business
  • A warm and motivated team working to make a real difference for our customers

Company values

  • Love - The value of love drives everything we do at PensionBee.
  • Honesty - We strive for total transparency about our pensions.
  • Quality - People trust us with their pension savings, and we go above and beyond to show them that we deserve that trust.
  • Simplicity - We’re committed to making pensions less complex.
  • Innovation - PensionBee wouldn’t exist without innovation.

Funding (1 round)

Jul 2016

$1.3m

SEED

$1.3m

Total funding

Founders

Jonathan champions a tech-forward culture within the business, aiming to raise the level of technology literacy among employees, and creating opportunities for people to develop.

Previously worked as an Associate at Morgan Stanley and Director of Corporate Development at Credit Benchmark. Rounds up her investment bank experience with a 2-year stint as Analyst at Goldman Sachs.

Diversity & Inclusion at PensionBee

Emma Ferenc - Batchelor headshot

Emma Ferenc - Batchelor (Training & Culture Manager )

  • Upon joining PensionBee every member of staff is also given an equity stake, so we can all share in the success of the company
  • We’re proud to have achieved complete gender parity.
  • PensionBee is an accredited Living Wage employer
  • Around 43% of staff self-identifying their racial or ethnic background as Asian/Asian British; Black, African, Caribbean, or Black British; Mixed, multiple or other ethnic groups - which is unheard of in financial services.
  • We’re a proud member of the Race at Work Charter, the Women in Finance Charter and a signatory of the Tech Talent Charter, which shares the aim of addressing inequality in the UK tech sector, championing diversity and inclusion across the industry
  • The aim of our D&I agenda: The objective of our diversity and inclusion agenda in 2023 is to enable PensionBee to be a wonderful place to work and to align our culture with the diverse representation of our customer base.
  • A taster of our events so far: February - Social Mobility Awareness Month sessions - Raising Awareness - Making The Leap - Eugene Blavo Speaks March - Women’s Month (International Women’s Day) - Women in Leadership take the ‘Yellow Chair’ - The Gender Pension Gap & our focus on attracting more Female Customers April - International Month - Ex-pat Lunch & Share - International Food Party May - Mental Health Awareness Month - Lived Experience Session - Focus on Men’s Mental Health June - LGBTQ+ Awareness Month (lead up to Pride) - Later life needs of gay people - Pride Picnic July - South Asian Heritage Awareness Month - South Asian Cinema Movie Night - Remembering Rana Plaza - A discussion with Dr. Ashok Kumar, on the 10th anniversary September - Parenting Awareness Month - Family Meet Up - Lived-experience Sessions October - Black History Month - Lived-experience Session - Fireside Chat with Natalie Campbell MBE November - Neurodiversity & Disability Awareness Month - The Future is ND: Why we must embrace neurodiversity at work - Rethinking how we approach Disability and Inclusion

Endorsements

All

Open and honest communication (2)

Supportive management (2)

Focus on employee wellbeing (2)

Career progression (1)

Diversity is a priority (1)

Flat hierarchy (1)

Every manager I've had at PensionBee has been so supportive, and they genuinely care about you. At times when my mental health was bad they accommodated my needs and supported me while I took an extended amount of time away from work. They were also able to help create a version of my role that better supports my neurodiversity. At every step of my journey through PensionBee, my managers have always made me feel like a valued member of the team and given me the support to thrive and progress.

Operations & Strategy

Supportive management

Oct 2022

One of the 5 core values at PensionBee is Honesty and it is seen through all levels of the business. Every morning we have a company-wide standup where each team explains what they're working on that day as well as weekly Show 'n' Tell sessions where people can present to the company what they've been working on. There are also daily in-team standups where we can discuss areas that need working on, any blockers we're facing and set goals for the end of the day. We also have fortnightly check-ins with our manager to discuss work performance as well as any personal issues we'd like to share. There is also a culture of not shaming anyone and that there are no silly questions. This makes it easier to reach out for help when you are struggling or have made a mistake and leads to refresher sessions and additional guides being made available for the team.

Operations & Strategy

Open and honest communication

Oct 2022

PensionBee is amazing when it comes to employee wellbeing. We have dedicated Mental Health First Aiders in the company who you can go to for support and provide helpful resources. Another perk is that we're part of the Employee Assistance Programme and are able to speak confidentially to a qualified counsellor 24/7 and have access to online CBT. We have had several guided meditation sessions with a professional meditation coach throughout the year. There are also frequent sessions from external speakers on topics such as race, heritage, neurodiversity, LGBTQ+ issues and much more which is an open space for people to learn. Internally we also organise events such as trips to museums and galleries or group lunches. Everyone has a 'Happiness Meeting' every 4-6 weeks with their manager to talk about anything non-work related. As both my manager and I can travel easily to the office we have been able to go in for the day and go to a nice coffee shop for our meeting which has been lovely. On top of the normal time off and sick-day allowance, you can also receive additional leave days for long-term physical or mental conditions.

Operations & Strategy

Focus on employee wellbeing

Oct 2022

You can always count on your colleagues at PensionBee to be honest through communication! The open team culture makes it easy to communicate with each other, as well as being in the know with what is going on in the company!

Operations & Strategy

Open and honest communication

Oct 2022

The management at PensionBee have gone above and beyond to support me! Our monthly catch ups have made me feel supported in terms of my career path as well as matters outside of work, they take into consideration that we all have personal lives and sometimes things don't go to plan. They really do care for their employees!

Operations & Strategy

Supportive management

Oct 2022

PensionBee is all about the wellbeing of their employees, from the endless support from the company right down to the goodies they send out to keep our spirits up whilst working from home. We have so many different opportunites during work to take a step back, from the yoga sessions to the team lunches just to catch up and check in. They definetely have their employees best interests at heart!

Operations & Strategy

Focus on employee wellbeing

Oct 2022

Even before I officially started with the company, I knew I would be able to be totally free and open about my identity, where I have not had this freedom in other companies. I have even been given an amazing opportunity to join the Diversity Champion team to celebrate the differences of everyone in the company.

Finance, Legal & Compliance

Diversity is a priority

Oct 2022

Our C Suite has always taken a very pro-active approach to their work for the company, and I feel completely at ease with having a conversation with our CEO. The company is open to any suggestions from anyone in the team, even if they are newbies.

Finance, Legal & Compliance

Flat hierarchy

Oct 2022

There is no favouritism when it comes to opportunities for career progression. PensionBee takes an anonymous approach to applications for internal promotion, so that offers are made on the sole basis of suitability for the role and not someone's background.

Finance, Legal & Compliance

Career progression

Oct 2022

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