Finding a lost pension
If you’ve had several different jobs, it’s likely that you’ve started and paid into several different workplace pensions.
Keeping track of multiple pension pots can be difficult, and you may even find that you’ve lost track of one or more pensions altogether, especially if you’ve moved house and you no longer receive pension statements.
The amount of money in dormant pensions is expected to reach £750 billion by 2050, according to the GOV.UK.
If you’ve got various pensions scattered around, then it can be very hard to keep track of your money, monitor the fees you’re paying, and make the most of your retirement savings.
To check the details of your old pensions you need to contact your pension providers. But what if you can’t remember who your pension provider was and you can’t find any paperwork with the details?
Contacting your employers to find your pensions
In this case, you can try asking your previous employers for details of your old workplace pensions. Contact the HR department, providing details like your employment dates, the probable dates of your pension scheme membership and your National Insurance (NI) number. If you’re not sure, you can also learn what your pension number (sometimes referred to as a customer number, policy number, reference number or employer pension scheme reference number) is when enquiring. This is often needed to give to your new pension provider to transfer your pension.
If you’ve worked for the public sector, you should be able to find information about your pension on the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) website.
When tracing your pension, you’ll probably need to provide at least your name, address, and NI number so that your existing pension provider can verify your identity. You may be able to find your NI number on documents like a payslip or P60. If you’re unable to locate it, try using HMRC’s free tool.
The Pension Tracing Service
Alternatively, you can use a pension locator like the government Pension Tracing Service to find your pensions. This is a free pension tracker service that searches a database to find the names and contact details of your pension providers. You can fill in their online form, call them on the government pension tracing service contact number, or write to them to start the process of tracing a lost pension.
This service is also useful if you know or suspect that a deceased relative left a pension, and you’re the executor of their estate or their next of kin. If you’re successful in locating a pension, the pension provider may ask to see a death certificate and identification to confirm your relationship.
What’s next? Transferring old pensions
Once you’ve found your old pensions, you can choose to combine them into one plan. The benefits of doing this may include lower fees and easier management of your money. You can opt to combine your pension pots into a new online plan, like those offered by PensionBee. Or, a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP), which will give you some choice over how your funds are invested. When you’re choosing a new plan, you should look carefully at the provider’s fee structure, the investment options they provide, and whether there’s a minimum contribution amount.
It’s important to note that some pensions - in particular, defined benefit pensions (or ‘final salary’ pension) - have important guarantees. The government requires you to seek financial advice if you’d like to move a defined benefit pension worth over £30,000.
Combining your pensions with PensionBee
Here at PensionBee, we have a team of friendly ‘BeeKeepers’ (personal account managers) who’ll help you set up your new pension and guide you through the pension transfer process, from start to finish.
Step 1
Sign up for a PensionBee pension in just a few clicks online or taps via our app. To get started, we’ll ask for your name and email address, and a few personal details such as your date of birth, address, phone number and NI number.
Step 2
Answer some questions about your pension history. We’ll ask you who the pension provider is, the policy number if you have it, if you’re currently paying into the pension, and we’ll ask you to provide a signature to confirm the transfer. It’s really as simple as that.
Step 3
You’ll be assigned a ‘BeeKeeper’ who’ll get to work contacting your pension providers to get a transfer balance for each of your old pensions. Some providers take longer to respond than others, but most take a few weeks. Your ‘BeeKeeper’ will keep you updated on their progress via email.
Step 4
Soon, your transfers will be complete, and the balance of your new PensionBee plan will be updated. On average, it takes 12 weeks to process and transfer your old pensions. To manage your money or read the finer details about your plan, you can log into your ‘BeeHive’, which is your personal pension dashboard. You’ll be able to manage your retirement savings online in one place, so you’ll never lose track of your pension again! Your ‘BeeKeeper’ will still be on hand should you have any questions.
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.
Last edited: 29-07-2025
