How to find a lost pension
If you've lost track of your pensions, this guide will help you find them
1. Introduction to lost pensions
Don’t worry – you’re not alone. Lots of us have pension savings that we’ve forgotten about, never knew we even had or for which we’ve mislaid the paperwork.
This guide will give you pointers on how to find and recover your lost pension savings. It includes all the information you’ll need to be able to track them down and the kinds of questions you’ll need to ask when you do find them.
Finally, we’ll explain a couple of things you can do now to avoid losing track of your pension savings in the future.
2. Why do people lose pensions
3. Checking if you have lost pension funds
Do you think you’ve got some pension savings you’ve lost track of or had forgotten about? With millions of pounds left unclaimed in lost pensions, you could be right. But how can you find out more?
Is it lost?
This is the first important question you need to ask yourself. Whether it is a personal pension or a workplace pension, just because you may have found some paperwork indicating you did have one, it does not always mean you still have an entitlement. This is because you may have had a refund of contributions.
For workplace pensions there are several key dates that you need to be aware of that may help you ascertain whether you may have a lost workplace pension.
If you left your employer before 1975
you would have almost certainly received a refund of your pension contributions. You’re also unlikely to be entitled to anything if you did not pay into the pension scheme (unless you worked there for a considerable time, usually over 15 years).
If you left your employer between April 1975 and April 1988
you would usually have received a refund of your pension contributions and you will not now be entitled to anything.
If you left your employer after 1988
you may well have an entitlement to pension savings if you worked for the employer for more than two years.
4. Tracing a lost workplace pension
The good news is that if any of your former employers are still in business, they should have the details of their current and previous pension providers. To track down an old workplace pension, simply follow the steps below.
Start at home
The first place to start looking is at home. Dig out as much paperwork as you can and check to see if you can find the details of any schemes you have forgotten about. Take a look at any old payslips and see if any deductions were made for pension contributions. If so, assuming that you haven’t subsequently received a refund, you could have some pension savings you've forgotten about.
Additionally, it’s worth contacting all your previous employers and asking for the details of their pension schemes. They should be able to give you the provider’s contact details and you can contact them directly to ascertain if you were a member of a scheme or not.
If you are still having difficulty tracing your workplace pension, you can use the Government's online pension tracing service or you can call it on 0845 6002 537. You can also use this service to find lost personal pensions.
I now know who my pension provider is. What details will I need to provide?
The more information you can give the provider, the better, because it will make tracing any pension both easier and quicker. Details you should give them include:
- Your name (current and previous, if different)
- Your address (current, as well as where you lived when working for the company in question)
- Your date of birth
- Your National Insurance number
- The name of the company you worked for
- The address of the company you worked for (in case your company had multiple offices or branches)
- The date you began working for the company
- The date you left the company
- The dates you joined and left the pension scheme (if you know)
The questions you need to ask
It's vital to ask a number of questions to find out more about any pension scheme which you might previously have joined.
Before you do, it is important to find out whether your workplace pensionit is a Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution scheme (personal pensions are Defined Contribution schemes). Defined Benefit schemes are also known as final salary schemes (though there are career average schemes too), in which your pension entitlement is based upon the number of years worked and your salary at retirement age.
In contrast, Defined Contribution schemes (sometimes called ‘money purchase’ schemes) are based on contributions into a pension pot, with the returns dictated by investment growth.
If you find out you were a member of a Defined Benefit scheme, your pension provider should be able to give you a very accurate estimate of what you can expect to receive when you take your pension. This is because your pension is based on salary and service and is not subject to the ups and downs of the stock market.
If you find that you have a workplace defined contribution scheme that you had forgotten about, then you need to find out:
How much has been contributed into your pension pot?
What is the current value of the pension pot?
What is the estimated value of the pension pot on your expected retirement date?
Are you paying management charges for the pension scheme? If so, how much are they?
How is the pension pot being invested?
Is there a nominated beneficiary on file? Who is it?
What are the details of the death benefits on offer? How much would your nominated recipient receive?
If you were to transfer the pension savings to another provider, would any charges apply? How much would they be?
Now you have the full details about your lost workplace pension, it is important to take advice as to what you should do with it. There are various options dependent upon the type of pension and the particular provider but options can include leaving it as it is until you reach retirement age or, if you have another pension or pensions, you may choose to combine them into one pot. What you choose to do will depend upon your personal circumstances, lifestyle and retirement expectations.
5. How to avoid losing your pension in the future
The sheer scale of unclaimed pension savings in the UK shows how important it is to keep track of where yours are, if you want to maximise your income in retirement. These lost pension pots are worth an average of £9,470, and that could make a real difference to most people’s retirement.
Keeping track while you are working for an employer
With people moving jobs far more frequently nowadays than did previous generations, it is important that you keep track of your pensions as you could end up with a multitude of pensions from a variety of providers with no clue as to how many pensions you actually have.
Start by keeping a detailed record of your employment history, including all correspondence, salary slips showing contributions and any other communications that relate to your pension.
Look after your pension plan documentation
Keep the documentation that explains the pension plan you are in, including its investment policy and details about the various benefits you may be entitled to, such as death in service benefits.
Keep hold of your annual updates
You will probably receive an annual update of your pension. Its format may vary, depending on whether you are a member of a Defined Benefit or Defined Contribution scheme. However, it will give you an estimate of your benefits at retirement age, and a valuation and estimate of your pension pot should you have a defined contribution scheme. Remember to keep hold of each of these updates – they’re important!
Moving homes
If you move house, always notify the pension company. Don’t assume that just because it is a workplace pension scheme, your employers will do this for you.
Keeping track if you leave and go to work for another employer
Remember to keep all your paperwork safe. Always tell your old pension provider if your address, telephone number or email address change. After all, the pension provider may need to contact you with news of any updates to the scheme. Additionally, keep track of your former employer – if the company is sold, merges with another firm or goes out of business, this can have an effect on the workplace pension scheme.
6. How Smart Pension helps members
Smart Pension's technology makes finding lost pensions effortless. Their pension finder tool means you can locate lost or forgotten pension savings in a matter of clicks. Their transfer service also allows members to see all their pension savings from previous jobs in one place, and combine them into one place if they’d like to.
Additionally, Smart Pension believes that employers can play a pivotal role in getting the message out to their employees about how they can find their own lost pension savings. To help companies do this, they’ve created an easy-to-use toolkit. It provides a range of different communications, such as graphics, videos, posters, payslip messaging and much more. Visit the Smart Pension website to access the lost pension toolkit. Their short animation on lost pensions provides more information to encourage people to start their pension treasure hunt.