In this day and age, it’s a rarity to stay at one company for your whole career. Switching jobs can lead to career advancements, better pay, and better work life balance, but there is a down side — you have to keep track of all the various pension schemes you’ve been a part of over the years. Unfortunately, many people lose their hard-earned pensions or simply forget them. But now, more than ever, during this cost of living crisis, every penny counts. Is it time to round up your pension pots?
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According to research from Opinium, one in six (16%) UK adults have attempted to trace a lost or forgotten pension, while only one in ten (9%) have been able to do so successfully. On average, the total amount recovered for those who were able to find their pensions was £6,351. For the majority of respondents, the pensions ranged from £1,000 and £5,000, but for a small percentage (8%), they were able to recover pensions worth over £20,000.
The sooner you start, the better
Although it has been the norm for years to change jobs frequently, as a result of the pandemic, the frequency at which people moved jobs increased. The Pension Policy Institute estimates that as of 2022, the total value of lost pensions sits at a massive £26.6 billion. The sooner you get started on searching for and keeping track of your pensions, the better chances you’ll have of benefitting from that money.
Here are a few tips for finding your lost pensions:
Get your paperwork in order
You should be receiving a statement each year from your pension scheme that includes an estimate of the retirement income your pension pot could provide. If you’re trying to track down your various pensions, this paperwork is a good starting point. These statements should include details like the name of your employer or pension scheme as well as the contact information for the scheme’s administrator or provider.
If you’re no longer receiving these statements, for whatever reason, consider reaching out to your former employer (if it was a workplace pension), your pension provider (this is the best approach as long as you haven’t lost the name as well), or the Pension Tracing Service.
Leveraging the Pension Tracing Service
If you are finding it exceedingly difficult to round up your lost pensions, the government’s Pension Tracing Service is an excellent resource. The Pension Tracing Service is a free service that searches a database of over 200,000 workplace and personal pension schemes to help find the contact details you need.
Perhaps you can’t locate the contact information for a former employer, or maybe your old company no longer exists. Maybe you have simply just forgotten the provider you used for a personal pension. In any case, the Pension Tracing Service can help.
Do you need help tracking down your old pensions?
Keeping track of multiple pensions throughout the years can be hard; tracking them all down when you’re ready to retire could be even harder. If you’re having trouble rounding them all up, you don’t have to do it alone. Contact the experts at Dental & Medical Financial Services to learn more about your retirement options and how we can help.