A forgotten pension may be worth more than you think. Research from the Pensions Policy Institute found that, in 2024, there were 3.3 million lost pension pots across the UK, holding a combined £31.1 billion. The average lost pot amongst people aged 55 to 75 was valued at £13,620, so finding a forgotten pension could provide a meaningful boost to your retirement savings.

Why are pensions so easily lost?

It isn’t difficult to lose track of a pension over the course of your working life. The average person in the UK changes jobs around 11 times, and with workplace auto-enrolment becoming a legal requirement in 2018, more people than ever before are contributing to pensions they may not even be aware of.

Forgetting to update your contact details following a house move or name change can also make it difficult for pension providers to stay in touch with you. As a result, many people don’t know exactly how many pensions they have, where they are held, or how much they could be worth.

How to trace a lost pension

Finding a lost pension doesn’t have to be complicated, and a few simple checks could help you reconnect with savings that belong to you.

You could:

• Retrace your career history: Make a list of your previous employers and the dates you worked for them.

• Check your paperwork: Look through old payslips, pension statements, employment documents, and correspondence from pension providers.
• Check your personal details: Make sure your name, address, and other personal information are correct on any records you find.
• Look for gaps: Compare your employment history with your pension records to identify periods when you may have paid into a pension but have no information.
• Contact the relevant organisation: Get in touch with the pension provider or your former employer.

If you are unsure on who the pension provider may be, the Government’s free Pension Tracing Service can help you find contact details for workplace and personal pension schemes. It won’t tell you whether you have a pension or how much it is worth, but it can point you in the right direction so you can make further enquiries.

What should you do once you find a pension?

Once you have found an old pension, contacting the provider to check the value and understand how the scheme works are your best next steps. It is worth asking about:

• when and how you can access the pension
• how the money is invested
• what charges apply
• whether there are any valuable benefits or guarantees attached to it

If you would like more information on tracing an old pension or understanding your options, please get in touch with a member of our team – we are always happy to help.