How to join the pension treasure hunt and discover “lost” savings

You could uncover “lost” pension savings and boost your retirement by tracking down old pots you might have forgotten about. Read on to find out why you might have lost pensions and how to rediscover them.

27 October 2024 marks National Pension Tracing Day and the campaign urges you to join the pension treasure hunt.

It’s estimated there are 2.8 million “lost” pensions with a combined value of £26.6 billion. That means around 1 in 20 people could boost their pension by an average of £9,500 simply by tracking down savings they’ve lost touch with.

So, paying attention to your pensions this autumn could offer you greater flexibility when you retire.

A busy life could mean you overlook and lose a pension 

It can be easier than you think to lose a pension.

According to Zippia, the average person will hold around 12 jobs in their lifetime – that could leave you with a lot of pensions to juggle and keep track of. A relatively small pension can easily slip your mind when calculating how much you’re saving for your retirement.

Moving home could also mean you lose touch with a pension if you forget to update your contact details. Without a regular statement, you might be overlooking thousands of pounds you’ve put away for retirement.

Keeping your personal details, including your address, up to date can make it easier to manage your pensions.

In addition, for some workers, pension consolidation might make keeping track of pensions easier as you’d have fewer pots to manage.

While consolidating pensions might seem like a simple solution, it isn’t always the right option. For example, if your pension offers benefits, such as being able to access your pension earlier than the usual pension age, you’d typically lose these when you transfer the money.

You might also want to weigh up fees and investment performance when deciding if you should move your retirement savings.

If you have questions about pension consolidation or would like to understand if it’s right for you, please contact us.

How to track down your pensions in 5 simple steps

1. List your previous employers 

When searching for lost pensions, a good place to start is often your career history. Writing down your previous employers could make it easier to identify gaps in your retirement savings.

2. Link your pensions to your jobs

With a list of jobs, you can start to assess if you have a pension for each employer. This may mean going through your paperwork to find pension statements and linking them to an employer.

A gap doesn’t automatically mean you’ve lost a pension – you might have opted out or previously consolidated your savings. However, it can highlight where you could benefit from some further investigation.

So, you might want to check old employment contracts, payslips, or employee handbooks if you have the documents to hand. This will help you to see if you should have a pension and if you made contributions.

3. Contact the pension provider about your missing savings

If you realise there’s a gap in your pension savings and you know who the pension provider is, you can get in touch with them. They’ll be able to advise if you do have a pension with them and how to update your details.

4. Find the provider’s contact details using the pension tracing service  

If you believe you have a lost pension but aren’t sure who to contact, getting in touch with your old workplace might be useful. They could provide the details of the pension provider they use and information about whether it’s changed. From here, you can contact the provider directly to find out if they hold a pension in your name.

You can also use the government’s pension tracing service to find the contact details you need using the name of the employer or pension provider.

5. Make your rediscovered pension part of your retirement plan

Once you’ve identified a lost pension, there may be some important steps to take to ensure it fits into your retirement plan.

One of the first things to do is update the contact details to minimise the risk of losing the pension in the future.

You might also want to look at the expected retirement age. Your retirement date may affect the projected value of your pension at retirement and how the provider will invest the money on your behalf. In addition, you can usually choose the risk profile of your pension to suit your needs, so it may be worthwhile checking how your pension is currently invested.

Updating your retirement plan to include the savings you’ve uncovered can help ensure it continues to reflect your circumstances. The financial boost might mean you’re able to retire sooner or could afford to spend on a big-ticket expense to mark the milestone.

A retirement plan could help you manage your pensions and future 

Whether you’ve found lost pension savings or not, a retirement plan could help you feel confident about your future finances.

From managing your pension now to creating an income when you’re ready to give up work, a tailored retirement plan may offer you a blueprint to follow that supports your goals. As well as creating a plan, we can help you regularly review it and make adjustments when your goals or circumstances change. Please contact us to talk about your retirement.

Please note:

This blog is for general information only and does not constitute advice. The information is aimed at retail clients only.

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 performance.

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.