Gemma Collins stars in parody beauty ad to raise pension awareness

Reality TV star Gemma Collins has featured in a parody face cream advert about tackling the effects of ageing as part of a campaign encouraging people to pay some attention to their pension.

The Only Way Is Essex (Towie) star urges people to cast aside their worries about wrinkles and instead prioritise their retirement savings when thinking about later life.

She tells viewers: “There’s a more important pot to think about. I’m talking about your pension pot.”

Pension Attention is an industry-led engagement campaign co-ordinated by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA) and funded by members of the pensions industry.

A survey for the campaign found that nearly six in 10 (57%) people have bought anti-ageing products in the last 12 months, such as moisturiser, anti-wrinkle cream, grey hair treatment and collagen products, while over a fifth (23%) have organised their finances for later life.

The campaign is encouraging people to find out if they have any lost pension savings, log into and check pension accounts and consider how much they will need for retirement.

Collins said: “To be honest, I hadn’t previously given much thought to my retirement and the money I might need for it. It has always felt such a long way off.”

But she added: “I don’t want to be hustling forever and working 24/7 on the trot. If you can do one thing today, then just have a look at your pension and give it some attention. It’s going to be top of my list now.”

Mark Smith, spokesman for the Pension Attention campaign, said: “Most working people in the UK have a pension, but many don’t know how to find information about these savings. We’re asking all UK adults to think about where their pensions are, what’s in them and to ensure that things like names and addresses are up to date.”

Pension Attention commissioned OnePoll to survey 2,000 people across the UK in July.