In the past, many workers had just one job throughout their lives, so they retired with just one pension plan. Today, greater job mobility and the government’s auto-enrolment scheme means this is no longer the case, and workers must keep track of multiple pension pots.
After research from the Pensions Policy Institute found that there are now 3.3 million lost pots with a total value of £31.1 billion, we created this guide to finding your lost pensions and keeping on top of your pots.
How To Find Your Lost Pension Pots
If you’re unsure of how to locate your old pension pots, or if you believe they’ve become lost over time, don’t worry. There are plenty of measures you can take to locate your missing pots, including:
Contact your previous pension providers
You can contact your previous pension providers directly to access your lost pension pots.
If you are searching for an old workplace pension, it might be worth speaking to former colleagues or your former employer to see if they can give you details such as the provider’s name and contact details.
If you are searching for a previous personal pension plan, perhaps one you had while you were self-employed, you should be able to check your bank statements to see where your payments were going and find out the name of your provider.
Once you know which provider your pension plan was with, you should contact them and provide as many of the following details as possible:
- Your plan number
- Your date of birth
- Your National Insurance (NI) number
- The date your pension was set up
- Your previous home addresses
Use the government’s free pension tracing service
If you have the name of your previous employer, you can use the Government’s Pension Tracing Service to help you find the contact details for the workplace pension scheme they used.
You can phone the Pension Tracing Service on 0800 731 0193 or enter the name of your previous employer into the online form and let the system do the rest.
However, this government service won’t tell you whether you have a pension or what its value is. So, once you know the name of your previous provider, you can contact them using the details mentioned above to get more information about your pension plan.
Look at old statements
Most pension providers send you a statement each year. These statements include the value of your pension pot, your pension plan number, the name of your employer, and details of the scheme’s provider.
However, you might struggle to find your old pension statements if you’ve moved house and forgotten to inform your provider of your new address. While 89% of people notify their GP or dentist when they change address, only 4% remember to inform their pension provider, so it’s a common pitfall for savers.
Use Gretel’s free service
Gretel is a free service that helps people track lost pensions, child trust funds (CTFs), and forgotten investments. You do not need to know the names of the pension providers or your policy numbers.
After you enter your full name, date of birth, phone number, email address, and current address, you will be asked to confirm all your previous addresses. Then, the service will attempt to trace your pensions every 14 days based on the information you have provided.
In addition, you can keep track of the service and their findings in Gretel’s easy-to-use dashboard.
How To Consolidate Your Old Pension Pots
Once you have gone through the steps above to find your old pensions, it’s a good idea to consolidate all your savings into one easy-to-manage pot. This will help you save money on fees, achieve better growth, and keep track of just one plan.
In addition, when the time comes to take your pension, you can receive a single quote for the whole amount. This may allow you to compare your options and make it easier to determine your best choice.
(Image Source: Get Claims Advice)
You can usually consolidate your pensions using your chosen provider’s online transfer service. You will need some information to do this, including:
- Your plan numbers: This is the unique number used to track your pension schemes. You can find this on your previous pension scheme statements or in your online accounts with your previous providers.
- Your pension transfer value: This is the amount you have in your pot that will be transferred from your old pension to your new plan. You can check your pension transfer value by using your provider’s online service or contacting them directly.
- Your personal details: This usually includes your name, contact number or email address, home address, date of birth, and National Insurance (NI) number. However, some providers may request more details.
Ready To Find Your Lost Pensions?
This article explored four simple ways to find the information you need to consolidate your old pensions. By knowing your previous pension providers or previous employers, you can access your old pension pots online and begin thinking about merging them into just one plan.
