Lost Pensions: Don’t Lose Out

The introduction of auto-enrolment in 2012 has meant that most people have been automatically enrolled in a workplace pension scheme with little to no effort required. This can make it easy to forget about enrolling as employers do all the behind-the-scenes administration to set it up.

With the average adult now having 11 employments throughout their lifetime, it can be easy to simply lose track of what we paid and when. Some of us could have had 4, 5 or even more employers by the time we’re in our mid-30s and with multiple jobs comes multiple pension pots, meaning we could have several sums of money dispersed amongst various pensions.

Add to that the fact that pension schemes can merge, change name or close, and it can be difficult to suss out what we might be owed and how to go about claiming it.

Steps to Finding Lost Pension Pots

It is important to ensure that we source all of the money we own. With the state pension currently offering a maximum of £883.35 per month, any workplace pensions will be valuable to top up retirement when the time comes. Any additional pension pounds could mean the difference between a basic standard of living and a comfortable standard of living in older age.

If you know the name of the scheme or suspect you may have had a pension with a previous employer, you can contact them directly to enquire on the next steps.

If you are unsure of the name of the scheme or can’t make contact with your previous employer, you can use the governments free The Pension Tracing Service. This service searches a database of more than 200,000 workplace and personal pension schemes to provide you with the contact details you need. To find out more about this service visit https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details

More information on sourcing lost pensions can be found at MoneyHelper.