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Why People Lose Track of Pension Pots
Across the UK, billions of pounds are held in lost pensions, forgotten or unclaimed by the people who own them. According to research from the Pensions Policy Institute, this amount is estimated at over £26 billion. There are several reasons why pensions are so easily misplaced.
Job changes
Many people collect several workplace pensions over their careers. Each time you move companies, a new employer may set up a different pension provider for you. If you don’t keep updated records, it becomes easy to lose track.
Changing address
If you’ve moved home and forgotten to tell your pension provider, they may not be able to contact you. Over time, paperwork stops arriving, and the old pension gets forgotten.
Scheme closures or mergers
Pension providers sometimes merge, rebrand, or close. When this happens, your pension might move to another company without you realising.
Lost paperwork
Many people rely on paper statements. If documents get misplaced or discarded, you may not remember who your provider is.
Automatic enrolment
Since 2012, millions of people have automatically joined workplace pension schemes. These can be small, especially in short-term jobs, but still valuable over time. Without keeping track, they can easily be forgotten.
Keeping good records helps, but if you’ve misplaced a pot, help is available — and you can trace your pensions for free.
How to Find a Lost Pension in the UK
If you’re unsure where to begin when tracking down an old pension pot, there are several reliable ways to get started:
1. Find your paperwork
Look through any pension statements, payslips, old contracts, emails, or financial files. Even a small detail, such as an employer’s name, a scheme administrator, or a partial policy number, can identify which provider holds your pension.
2. Speak to previous employers
Your former employer should be able to confirm whether you were enrolled in a pension scheme and provide the name of the provider. Even if the company has changed ownership or no longer exists, payroll or HR records can often indicate which scheme was used when you worked there.
3. Search online and use official services
The UK Government offers a free pension finder tool that searches a database of thousands of pension schemes. You can enter the name of your current or previous employer, and it will provide contact details for the provider so you can get in touch with them directly.
4. Contact providers directly
If you recognise a provider’s name from old documents or email history, approach them directly. With your personal details and National Insurance number, they can confirm whether you have a pension with them, even if you no longer have the policy paperwork.
5. Ask a regulated financial adviser
Some regulated financial advisers offer a pension-tracing service and can do the tracking for you. This is not a service provided by us, but it is something certain advisers may offer as part of their wider advice process.
Where available, an adviser will have systems in place to help trace old pensions, contact previous providers, request detailed scheme information, and check whether a pension includes valuable benefits or guarantees that should not be overlooked. They can also review whether bringing pensions together could make your retirement savings easier to manage.
Even if a pension pot is small or hasn’t been touched for years, it may still be worth finding. Tracing a pension typically incurs no cost, and modest pots can grow over time, particularly when considered alongside other retirement savings.
Pension Tracing by National Insurance Number
While you can’t search for all your pensions with your National Insurance (NI) number alone, pension tracing by National Insurance number is still an essential part of the process when providers verify and locate your records. Here’s how it helps:
- Pension providers use your National Insurance number to identify your pension record.
- If you contact a provider, they will often ask for your NI number first.
- Advisers will also use your NI number when requesting policy information on your behalf.
- HMRC uses your NI number to record pension contributions, particularly for workplace schemes.
What you can’t do
You cannot enter your NI number into a website or search tool to instantly see all your pensions in one place. Even the government pension finder database does not display balances or personal details; it only provides contact information to help you trace your pension.Your NI number is a key identifier, but it only works when you already know who to contact.
Using the Government’s Pension Tracing Service
The Government’s Pension Tracing Service is a free and official way to locate contact information for pension providers linked to your current or previous employers. It is especially helpful if:
- You remember the employer but not the pension provider
- The provider has changed name, merged, or no longer exists
- You’re unsure which provider held your old workplace pension
What the service can do:
- Search a government database of over 200,000 workplace and personal pension schemes
- Provide contact details for the pension provider or administrator
- Help you confirm whether an employer offered a pension scheme when you worked there
What it cannot do:
- It cannot tell you whether you have a pension, only who to contact
- It cannot show balances, values, or policy numbers
- It cannot search using your National Insurance number
How to access the service
You can use the service online through the government website. You’ll need the name of your employer or pension provider to begin your search. For many people, this is a good first step before speaking to a financial adviser.
How to Find Old Workplace and Personal Pensions
Tracking down retirement savings depends on what type of pension you’re looking for. Whether you’re trying to find old pensions from past employers or locate a private plan you arranged yourself, the process will vary slightly depending on how the pension was set up.
Different steps apply to workplace and personal pensions. To find an old workplace pension, you can use the following:
- Employer name
- Government Pension Tracing Service
- HR or payroll records
- P60, payslips, or employment contracts
- Emails from pension providers during enrolment
If the employer has closed, the tracing service can still identify the pension scheme that was linked to it.
Tracing personal or private pensions
For personal pensions (such as those arranged directly with a provider), start by:
- Looking at bank statements showing payments to a provider
- Searching for emails or statements from a pension company
- Checking for older direct debits
If you remember the provider but cannot access information, you can contact them directly. They will request personal details to verify your identity before confirming whether a pension is held in your name.
If the provider no longer exists – don’t worry,pensions are protected, and funds don’t disappear. They are usually transferred to a different provider. A financial adviser can trace old schemes, or the government service can help identify who now manages the pension.
What Information You Need to Trace a Pension
Tracing a pension is much easier when you have some basic details. To trace my pension, you may need:
- Your full name
- Your National Insurance number
- Your current and previous addresses
- Name of the employer linked to the pension
- Dates you worked at the company
- Any policy or plan numbers (if available)
- Name of the pension provider (if known)
You don’t need all this information, but even small details can help locate a lost pension. Advisers can often investigate based on limited information and follow up with providers on your behalf.
How an Adviser Can Help You Find and Combine Pensions
Some regulated financial advisers may help with tracing lost pensions, although this is not a service provided by My Pension Expert (MPE). Where available, this support is typically part of a wider advice process rather than a standalone service.
Finding your pensions is only the first step. You also need to understand the value of each pot, the applicable charges, how it is invested, and whether any guarantees or benefits could be affected by a transfer. This information helps build a clearer picture of your overall retirement position.
Regulated financial advice can help clarify these details and outline considerations for keeping pensions separate or combining them, allowing informed decisions to be made based on the complete information available.
Benefits of using an adviser to trace and manage pensions
There are several benefits to asking a regulated adviser to trace and manage your pensions, as they can contact providers on your behalf, track down missing pots, and explain the value and features of each one. They can:
- Identify all your pensions using professional tracing methods
- Contact providers on your behalf
- Explain the value and features of each policy
- Check for valuable benefits you could lose if you transfer
- Help you combine pensions, where suitable
- Recommend tax-efficient withdrawals when you retire
Why combining pensions isn’t always right
Some pensions carry guarantees or valuable benefits. An adviser will check whether transferring would cost you money or reduce your retirement income. Advice ensures your decision is based on what’s best for your circumstances.
