How do I find my lost Pensions?

How many employers have you worked for in your career? One? Two? More? Assuming you worked for the company for long enough and were eligible to join the pension scheme, you should have at least one set of pension benefits for each employer.

The latest data from the Pensions Policy Institute indicates that there is £26.6 BILLION In ‘lost’ or ‘unclaimed’ pension pots in the UK. The number of ‘lost’ pots has increased by 73% between 2018 and 2022.

If you wrote down a list of all the companies you have worked for in your career and tried to pair these up with pensions you know about, do you have any gaps? If you do, and particularly if you worked for that company for a while, it is possible you have a ‘lost’ pension.

Government Tracing Service for Lost Pensions

The Government has launched its free “Find a Pension” scheme to help people locate their pensions Click here for more details

This service allows you to search for contact information for pension scheme administrators that you can then use to open an enquiry as to whether you have ‘lost’ pension benefits. Most enquiries can be started with your full name (and pre-marital name if applicable), Date of Birth and National Insurance Number. If your enquiry is successful, the administrator will conduct further checks to verify your identity before issuing up-to-date paperwork to inform you of the value of the pension benefits.

Your Retirement Planning

Finding forgotten or lost pension benefits can have a significant impact on your retirement planning:

• You might be able to retire earlier if you have a bigger pension pot to support you through retirement
• You might be able to retire when you originally planned to but on a higher income
• You might be able to afford that dream holiday or once-in-a-lifetime experience
• You might be able to support your family in taking the next steps in their own lives

In any case, you cannot afford not to make sure you have accurate and up-to-date records of your pension benefits.

Next Steps

1. Make a list of all your previous employers
2. Pair up your employers with pension schemes you know about
3. Highlight any gaps in your pairs
4. Use the Government’s Pension Tracing Service to find out who to contact to see if you have a ‘lost’ pension

At Carpenter Box Financial Advisers we can help you review all of your existing pension plans and build a financial plan for your retirement. If you discover a ‘lost’ pension we can help you to understand how this fits into your wider financial plan and how it could help you retire earlier or wealthier.

If you would like to discuss your retirement planning further, please don’t hesitate to contact us on 01903 534587