How to find lost pensions

Saving enough for a comfortable retirement is probably the biggest financial challenge facing workers in the UK.

But with the average person having several employers during their lifetime, it's easy to lose track of an old pension.

It's thought that over £5 billion is currently lying unclaimed in private, workplace and additional state pensions, such as SERPS. Is any of this lost pension money yours?

Fortunately, there's an easy place to start if you're looking to locate lost pensions.

The Pension Tracing Service is a free service that's run by the Government. It has details of over 200,000 pension schemes that it can search to help locate your lost pension.

Before contacting the Pension Tracing Service, it will help if you have as much information to hand as possible.

For an old work pension, gather information on:

• Which company you worked for and if they have changed names/address since you left.
• When you worked there, when you started contributing to the scheme and when you finished.

For an old personal pension, make sure you know: 

• The name and address of the pension scheme
• The bank, building society or insurance company that sold the scheme 

And of course, any paperwork you have will prove very helpful in tracing your lost pension, too.

• Keep details of all your pensions in one place
• Let your pension provider know if you change address

Contact the Pension Tracing Service
Retirement planning guides