How to track down your lost pensions – and why you should

Like many people, you may well have saved money across multiple pension pots throughout your career.

In fact, according to MoneyAge, 28% of UK adults have saved money across three or more pension pots during their working lives.

It’s easy to see why you could misplace or lose track of previous pensions, especially when you consider how something as simple as a job change could increase the number of pension pots you have.

Indeed, a report by Money Marketing revealed that the value of lost pension pots in the UK rose by 37% to reach a total of £26.6 billion between 2018 and 2022.

With National Pension Tracing Day taking place on 29 October, there is no better time to consider the benefits of tracing your lost pensions.

So, read on to discover how you can locate your misplaced pension pots and why this could benefit you.

3 simple steps you can follow to trace your pension

1. Contact the pension provider directly

If you believe you might have misplaced or forgotten about a pension, your first step should be to speak to your pension provider (if you know who the pension is with). Providing them with a rough idea of when you might have paid into the pension, previous addresses, and your National Insurance number will help them to trace your pot.

2. Speak to your old employer

If you can’t find any relevant paperwork or you don’t know who the pension provider is, your next step is to contact your old employers. They may be able to point you in the direction of the correct pension provider, after which you can follow step one.

3. Use the government’s Pension Tracing Service

Finally, if you still can’t identify where your pension is being held, using the government’s Pension Tracing Service ought to be your next port of call. This service can assist you in tracing any pensions you may have lost, misplaced, or forgotten about during your working life.

To speed up the process, try and collate as much information as possible beforehand. This could include:

Key employer information, including business addresses and trading names
The name of any previous employers or pension services
Dates within which you believe you belonged to their pension scheme
Your personal details, including your National Insurance number.

Tracing your lost pension could give your retirement funds a real boost

Accessing a previously lost pension could provide you with an additional injection of retirement income. You will have no doubt worked hard to pay into these misplaced pensions, so it’s important to locate them and get access to your hard-earned wealth.

Moreover, there are several other financial and emotional benefits of correctly tracing your pensions that can help you avoid a shortfall during your retirement.

Taking advantage of compound returns

It may sound obvious, but one of the most important tools when building your retirement savings is time. This is especially the case when you consider any growth generated by compound returns on your pension savings.

Any growth generated by your pension fund is usually reinvested, which creates a cycle of “returns on returns” that can grow the value of your lost pot over time.

For instance, if you misplaced pension pots that have since been generating compound returns for years, or even decades, they may have seen significant growth on the amount you first contributed.

Considering pension consolidation to reduce administrative hassle in retirement

Once you’ve located all your misplaced or lost pension pots, you could consider consolidating them into one fund. Managing one single pension could be a lot less time-consuming and stressful for you and you could reduce some of the higher charges associated with older schemes, too.

However, bear in mind that consolidating pensions may not always be suitable for your circumstances. For example, some defined contribution plans have additional benefits – such as guaranteed annuity rates – that you may lose if you move that money elsewhere.

You may also find that some pension providers have exit fees for transferring your pension to another provider.

As there are both advantages and disadvantages of consolidating your pensions, speaking with a financial planner could be beneficial. We can help you identify your retirement goals and how much you need to achieve them, before offering advice and guidance on the pension options available to you.

Get in touch

If you need any help tracking down old pensions, or if you have multiple pots and you’d like to make sense of your retirement plans, get in touch with us today. Email [email protected] or call us on 01625 466360.

Please note

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The fund value may fluctuate and can go down, which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available. Past performance is not a reliable indicator of future results.

The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Thresholds, percentage rates and tax legislation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.