Smart Pension
Smart Pension is a UK workplace pension provider managing £10 billion in assets for 2 million savers and 100,000 employers. It reached this scale in just a decade and is the highest-rated pension provider on Trustpilot.
The growth story
Smart Pension grew from 412 to 398 employees between 2021 and 2026, raising $396M along the way, most recently a Series E in May 2023.
About
Smart Pension operates a defined contribution master trust, offering workplace pensions to employers of all sizes. It combines digital tools with traditional pension management to help employees save for retirement.
The company has grown rapidly since its 2014 founding, reaching £10 billion in assets under management. It raised $396 million in funding, including a Series E round in 2023 backed by investors like Aquiline Capital Partners and Barclays.
Founders and leadership
Engineering is the largest function with 81 staff. The leadership team has built a workforce with a median tenure of 4 years, suggesting strong retention.
Departments, and which ones grew
Headcount by function: Engineering 116 (+4% YoY), Information Technology 42 (-9% YoY), Business Development 32 (+3% YoY), Finance 28 (-7% YoY), Customer Success and Support 23 (+5% YoY), Operations 19 (+19% YoY).
Talent flow
The company recruits heavily from financial services firms like Mercer (11 hires) and Zurich Insurance (7), as well as tech shops like Code & Pepper (13). Alumni often move to financial institutions including JPMorgan Chase and TPT Retirement Solutions.
Most common previous employers of Smart Pension staff: Code & Pepper (13), Mercer (11), Zurich Insurance (7), Lloyds Banking (6), Capita (6), The Codest (6). Former Smart Pension employees most often moved to JPMorganChase (3), TPT Retirement Solutions (3), Strawpath (2), Microsoft (2), People's Partnership (2), Cushon (2).
Alumni worth knowing
The Smart Pension mafia
Alumni have founded 18 companies including Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management (235 staff) and Veremark (167 staff), showing a strong entrepreneurial streak.
18Michelle Darracott MBA FIA AMAPPT, was Chief Strategy Officer until 2023Daniel Braithwaite, was UX Innovation lead (contract) until 2019Walter Womersley, was COO and CRO, Investment Team until 2020Michael Watkins, was Product Director, Retirement and Payment Services until 2022Zaid Lahham, was Tech Lead Manager - Platform Engineering until 2023Paul Budgen, was Director of Business Development until 2022
Theo Seel Kent, was Senior Business Development Manager until 2018
Darren Philp, was Director of Policy and Communications until 2022
Matthew Lea, was CFO until 2019
Michael E., was Interim Director of Technology until 2023
Marzena Zaziąbł, was Agile Lead until 2021
Andrew Mugoya, was Head of Technical Solutions until 2023
Haroon Hussain, was Agile Lead until 2022
Luke Howells, was User Researcher until 2021
David Rutherford, was Data Migration Specialist until 2021
Martin Freeman, was Platform Strategy Director until 2024What this company is made of
Most common skills at Smart Pension: Project Management (92), SQL (88), JavaScript (86), Microsoft Office (82), Management (81), Git (78), Communication (77), Customer Service (75).
Where the team actually sits
Smart Pension people are concentrated in England, United Kingdom (105), United Kingdom (40), Cracow Metropolitan Area (20), Mazowieckie, Poland (18).
Search footprint
Smart Pension attracts about 247 organic search visits a month, traffic worth roughly $12K a month if bought through ads. It gained 213 ranking keywords and lost 143 in the last period.
What employees say
- Compensation
- 3.80 / 5
- Career opportunities
- 3.60 / 5
- Senior management
- 3.40 / 5
- Work-life balance
- 4.20 / 5
Frequently asked
Smart Pension has 398 employees as of September 2026.
Smart Pension has raised $396M in total, most recently a Series E round in May 2023.
Smart Pension was founded in 2014 by Will Wynne.
The most common previous employers of current Smart Pension staff are Code & Pepper (13 people), Mercer (11 people), Zurich Insurance (7 people).
Former Smart Pension employees most often move to JPMorganChase (3), TPT Retirement Solutions (3), Strawpath (2).
At least 18 companies have a founder who previously worked at Smart Pension, including Van Lanschot Kempen Investment Management, Veremark, Tanfield Chambers.
Smart Pension attracts about 247 organic search visits a month, worth roughly $12K a month in equivalent ad spend.
The most common skills among Smart Pension staff are Project Management, SQL, JavaScript, Microsoft Office, Management.
Smart Pension staff are concentrated in England, United Kingdom (105), United Kingdom (40), Cracow Metropolitan Area (20).
Smart Pension has about 116 people in Engineering, up 4% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Smart Pension has about 42 people in Information Technology, down 9% over the past year, as of September 2026.
Computed from 243 current and 277 former Smart Pension profiles, as of September 2026. Source: Crustdata.
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