Two-Thirds Of UK Workers Could Have Untapped Pension Savings – Here’s How To Find Yours

Two-thirds of UK workers (66%) could have at least one pension they’ve lost track of, according to new analysis from Aegon. But how do you trace your pension wealth?

The findings come as workers report having roughly 4.6 employers during their careers, creating more opportunities for pension pots to be forgotten.

Many workers could be leaving valuable sums of money on the table by overlooking old pension pots.

Tens of thousands could be left in lost pension pots

Workers discovered they had an average of £13,360 in pension wealth once their retirement pots were tracked down and combined, according to Aegon.

Over 4 in 10 workers (41%) say they have never engaged with a workplace pension from an old job after leaving the role.

This was due to them thinking it wasn’t worth enough to be concerned about and finding pensions confusing.

How to track down a lost pension

On average, there are thousands of pounds sitting in each lost pension in the UK. So it’s essential to claim your pension wealth to ensure you build enough for a comfortable retirement.

You can track down a lost pension using the following steps:

• Find your documents: gather your National Insurance (NI) number, old employer names, addresses and where possible, previous pension provider names to help make the search simpler.
• Free pension tracker: using a free pension tracing service can help you track down your lost pots quickly. Investing Insiders have partnered with Gretel to offer a free Pension Finder. Once signed up Gretel runs a comprehensive search of any pension pots in your name. There’s also a free pension service available on GOV.UK.
• Contact the pension company: get in touch with the pension companies to claim your pot. Each provider might have a slightly different process and timeline for receiving the money.
• Consider combining your pensions: In some cases, it might help to combine certain pension pots together to make them easier to manage and reduce the impact of fees on your return. However, this won’t be the case for everyone. Speaking with an FCA-regulated independent financial adviser could help you decide what the best next steps are for your pension pot.
• Update your details: if you want to keep the lost pot open with that pension provider, be sure to update your personal information to ensure you receive updates from the pension company.

For more tips, check out our guide on how to track down a lost pension pot.