It’s estimated a huge 4.8 million pension pots are missing in the UK. With an average of £9,470 in each pot (£13,620 for those aged 55 to 75) that’s a lot of money Brits are leaving behind that could provide more retirement income. Many people don’t even realise they have a missing pension. You can lose track of an old pension if you’ve ever changed your job, address or even name.
Fortunately, whether you know you’ve lost a pension or not, there are a few ways to find out and track one down.
1. Find your old employers
You may have never had a workplace pension. Perhaps you’ve always been self-employed and only paid into a personal pension. Or maybe you chose a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). In this case, you could skip to ‘Find your old providers’.
If you’ve had multiple employers, you could have workplace pensions stretching back several decades, depending on your career history. Start by thinking back through the employers you’ve worked for and note them down. An employer you had 30 years ago may be different to the one it is today. It may have been taken over by another employer since. If that’s the case you can search the Companies House register with the name of the company at the time you worked there to find out its current contact details. If you worked for a charity, try searching the Charities Register.
2. Find your old providers
Gather any paperwork or look through emails associated with your previous jobs. This might include pension statements, old payslips, or a P60 form, which could list contributions to a pension scheme. These documents can help you find who the provider is and confirm details about the pension, like a policy number.
Providers usually must send you a pension statement each year. You might have stopped receiving these if you moved to a new address. Contact your former employers who can help you find the name of the provider. You may need to share details like your National Insurance (NI) number and employment dates. You can find your NI number on various paperwork like old tax documents, a P60 or a payslip. You can also use the government’s National Insurance lookup tool.
3. Use the Pension Tracing Service
You can also use the government’s free Pension Tracing Service to help you. The service allows you to search its database with your employer or pension scheme name. You can also call their helpline if you prefer assistance over the phone. Keep in mind this service will only give you contact details for the provider, it won’t tell you the value of your pension or even if you have one with them.
4. Contact your pension provider/s
Once you’ve got your old providers’ details, you can contact them. They’ll be able to confirm if you have a pension with them and give you information about its value, how it’s invested, and any fees you’re paying. They may be able to tell you if you had a pension with them which you transferred to another provider. It’s also important to ask if your pension includes any exit fees or special benefits associated with the scheme you’re in.
As with contacting your old employers, you’ll usually need to provide your personal details, such as your date of birth, address, and National Insurance number for security and to help them find your old pension. It could take a few weeks for providers to locate all your information.
If you’ve moved multiple times or changed your name since setting up the pension, provide up-to-date information when contacting them. Your old provider may ask you for evidence of your change of details but specific requirements will depend on the provider, so they’ll confirm what they need when you contact them.
It’s also a good idea to:
- give the provider your contact details so they can keep you up to date with your pension;
- request a pension statement; and
- create an account with them to manage your pension online or through an app if you can.
Consider consolidating your pensions
Finding all your previously lost pensions is a big step towards boosting your retirement savings. It’s important to ask your old providers how your pension is being invested and any management fees you’re paying. Depending on what they say you may want to consider combining your pensions into one plan. This can make it easier to manage your retirement savings and potentially reduce fees. But there are lots of considerations to make when thinking about combining your pensions.
If you’re a PensionBee customer, you can easily combine and manage your pensions in one plan. In your PensionBee account, your BeeHive, you can even add your current workplace pension so it’s ready to transfer should you leave your old employer. That way you don’t risk forgetting about it and leaving it behind. Finding a lost pension might feel overwhelming, but it’s well worth the effort to recover retirement savings that belong to you.
Risk warning
As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.
