Very few of us have a job for life these days, with many of us moving through numerous roles and businesses as our careers progress.
That means you’ll probably have several workplace pensions throughout your working life, and as time passes, it can be easy to lose track of them.
You might have moved house since leaving a previous job, and your pension provider doesn’t have your new address. Or perhaps the pension provider has rebranded and merged with another company, but you’re not aware of the change.
So if that’s you, what do you do?
Well, firstly, go through your files at home and see if you have any old paperwork relating to your pension schemes. Even if you’re not getting any statements through the post, perhaps because you’ve moved house in recent years, your old paperwork might contain some useful information, so you can contact the pension provider directly, or find out what’s happened to the company in the intervening years.
Another option is to get in touch with your previous employers. It may be that a company you worked for ran the pension scheme, in which case they could be able to help you find the details you’re looking for.
Alternatively, you can make use of various services that have been set up to help you track down old pensions.
The Pensions Advisory Service can help you locate personal pensions if you can provide details such as your National Insurance number and when you worked for a particular company. The Pension Tracing Service, meanwhile, can help you track down both personal and workplace pensions. Administered by the government, it’s free to use, so it could be really useful if you’re struggling to get the details you need.
Finally, it may be the case that you’ve not moved house but have simply ignored your statements when they drop through the letterbox each year. Don’t disregard this mail; make sure it’s properly filed with the rest of your important documents, so you can feel confident you’re on top of everything from now on. Otherwise, you might find yourself back where you started in a few years’ time.
How many people have lost track of their pensions?
If you’ve lost track of previous pension schemes, you’re far from alone. In fact, a recent study by Scottish Widows revealed that more than 3.6 million people in the UK have no idea how many pensions they have.
This may explain why nearly three-quarters like the idea of creating a new system that automatically consolidates small pension pots as they move from one job to another.
The research also highlighted some significant gaps in people’s knowledge, with one in ten respondents saying they had no idea how to combine their pensions, while a similar proportion felt it would be “too much hassle”.
We’re here to tell you that it doesn’t have to be really difficult, and you can always speak to a professional, regulated financial advisor about consolidating old pensions and planning your finances for the future.
If you have any questions about your retirement planning, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us, and we’ll be happy to speak with you.
*A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). Your capital is at risk. The value of your investment (and any income from them) can go down as well as up and you may not get back the full amount you invested. Workplace pensions are regulated by The Pensions Regulator.
