The proposed loss of the winter fuel allowance for many pensioners highlights the need to make sure you make adequate provision for a comfortable retirement. Saving into a pension is an important way to help you achieve this, however once you’ve saved into a pension and change employer, how do you keep track of that pension?
Research shows that on average people will have 12 jobs during their careers; this will likely mean 12 different pension pots. That can make it really hard to keep track of all your pensions and work out how much money you’ll have in retirement.
I often speak with people who are not sure if they had received a pension from their employer when they were younger. There are also people who have had a letter from their pension provider, but didn’t realise or had forgotten that they had one.
The Pensions Policy Institute states there are over 2.8 million pension pots that are considered ‘lost’ and have not been claimed by their rightful owner. With the estimated value of this unclaimed pension money to be in the region of £26.6 billion!
This begs the question: ”Do I have any ‘lost’ pensions and how do I go about finding them?”
How do I find my lost pensions?
Firstly it’s always worth checking your records, it may be that you have a drawer where you file away things such as old pension statements or membership correspondence / letters from a pension provider or previous employers.
If you find any details you can contact the company and request up to date values and information about that pension and also make sure they have your correct details – such as up to date address details.
Revisit work history
If you can’t find any details of any other pensions, revisiting your work history could be a good idea. If you were employed by someone there is a chance you were a member of their pension. You can get in touch with past employers and they should be able to guide you on the pension schemes they provided and the benefits you might be entitled to.
The Pension Tracing Service
If you haven’t got the contact details of an old employer, or you don’t know the provider of a pension you can use the government’s free Pension Tracing Service. This searches a database of workplace and personal pension schemes to try and find the contact details you may need.
Review existing pension plans
When you have the details about your pensions, it is worth taking stock and reviewing these. There are many things to consider, such as are the investments of these pensions right for me and how do these pensions fit in with my retirement goals.
It may also be worth considering whether to combine your pension pots to bring them together. By consolidating them into one pot, it will help to simplify your finances and make it easier to keep track of your retirement savings.
Its important to take advice
Once you’ve tracked down your pension plans, it’s important to obtain financial advice. It can be difficult to understand the features and benefits of older plans, any exit fees that may be charged, whether or not you will lose any valuable benefits, such as guaranteed annuity rates, or whether your charges may be lower if you kept your funds where they are.
At Origen we will help you to assess your retirement income strategy, appetite for risk, fund selection, how to manage your pension savings tax efficiently and make the right level of contributions to meet your financial goals. We are here to help you with pension questions and your requirements, so please get in touch with your local Origen adviser.
CA12391 Exp:09/2025
