How to track your missing pension pots

As many as 2.8m lost pension pots worth £26.6bn could remain unclaimed, according to Pensions Policy Institute Briefing, with 1 in 4 people predicted to have at least one lost pension. Those pots are worth, on average, £9.5k each – that’s a huge amount of money 25% of people are potentially losing out on. Here, we look at why you shouldn’t let your hard-earned money go to waste and how to find lost pensions and stop it from happening again.

This week’s King’s Speech set out some important proposals for pension reform, including pension consolidation and making tracking lost pots easier. But why wait for the pension schemes bill to start? Tracing your lost pensions can be a lot of hard work, but the good news is we can help with our new Find, Check & Transfer service, where we will do the heavy lifting for you. But if you’re asking yourself, “Can I find my pensions using my NI number?” we’ll tell you how to do it too in this complete guide on how to trace a pension with your national insurance number.

Losing track of workplace pensions

It is all too easy to lose track or forget about workplace pensions you may have had from old jobs. Whereas previously, people had a job for life, things have changed, and now it’s common to change your job more frequently.

Due to pension autoenrollment, if you met the criteria—i.e., you were over 22 years old and earned more than £10k per annum—it is likely a new workplace pension would have been created for you at each job you had. This means you might accumulate several throughout your working life – the average is 11. While your pension providers should send you annual statements, if you move home and don’t advise your pension provider, your statements won’t reach you. It’s notoriously difficult to keep track of multiple pensions, and the more you have, the harder it becomes to stay on top of your savings.

How can I find my NINO?

If you can’t find your National Insurance number, there isn’t a specific NI number finder, but there are several things you can do. You can:

• Locate it on payslips or letters concerning tax.
• Call the NI helpline on 0300 200 3500 from within the UK or +44 191 203 7010 if you’re calling from outside the UK.
• Complete a CA5403 form and receive your NINO by post.

You can also download the HMRC app.

Steps to find my pensions with NI number

Let’s take a look at how to find a lost pension with your NI number.  You might be wondering, “How do I find my pension from years ago?”, and what the first step is. To get started, you need to gather as much information as possible about the pension you think you’ve lost, but this can be quite time-consuming

“I want to find my lost pension that was opened for me in my first job” is a question we often get asked at Moneyfarm. It doesn’t matter how old the pension is or when you lost track of it – the steps are the same.

The answer to “Can I find my pensions using my NI number?” is yes, but as previously stated, you need other information, too, as it will improve your chances of locating forgotten pensions. Follow these steps:

• Gather all the information you can, including old pension statements, contracts of employment, and letters from old pension providers.
• Get in touch with former employers to obtain details of any pension schemes they were operating during the time you were employed.
• Contact former pension providers. For this to be successful, you’ll need the details of your pension.

Once you’ve gathered as much information as possible and your NINO, you can find lost pensions. If you are having problems gathering the information, you might find the Gov.UK Pensions Tracing Service helpful.

If you don’t want to do all this yourself, there are services you can use that will do all the work for you. Like the new Moneyfarm Find, Check & Transfer service, which will find all your old pensions, check them for valuable benefits, and then transfer them into one new pension that’s tailored to you and your investment needs. Not only can this save you time, but it could stop you from making costly mistakes with your pensions. There is a 1% fee for this service.

What if I was self-employed?

Can I find my pension using my NI number if I am self-employed? Yes, you can. Finding a self-employed pension requires similar information to that detailed above, except, of course, you are the employer.

Did I have a SERPS Pension?

The government introduced the State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) to top up our state pension. The scheme ran from 1978 to 2002 before the State Second Pension replaced it. So, if you worked during these dates, you may have been paying into both of these:

• The basic State Pension is a flat rate provided you have accumulated 30 years’ worth of NI contributions.
• The additional State Pension is also known as the State Second Pension (S2P for short). Prior to April 6, 2002, the S2P was called SERPS (State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme). It pays different amounts according to your earnings, the type of NI contributions, and the kind of contracted-out private pension scheme involved.

While you couldn’t opt out of the State Pension, you could opt or contract out of the State Second, SERPS, or Additional Pension, as long as you had a private pension such as a workplace or personal pension scheme.

It’s more than likely you’ve been contracted out of the additional State Pension if you had a final salary or career average pension plan or if, before April 6, 2012, you were part of some kind of work pension scheme. You might also have been contracted out if you had a stakeholder pension plan or a private pension scheme.

If you are over state pension age, you can check your wage slips prior to April 6, 2016. If they bore the category letters D, E, L, N, or O, it means you were contracted out.

If you’re wondering, “Can I find my pensions using my NI number if I’ve opted out of SERPS?” The answer is yes. You can contact your employers or, if you know them, your pension providers. If you don’t know the providers, you can try using the government tracing service mentioned earlier.

Moneyfarm can also help you track down SERPS pensions and help you be reunited with your hard-earned money.

Using bespoke services to find old pensions with your NI number

If you need help with your find my old pensions exercise, there’s a pension tracing service provided by the government, and there are also independent service providers you can find online. If your how to find my old pensions exercise is successful, there are several options:

• Leave your pension where it is
• Start a pension transfer
• Combine old pensions into one new pension

A pension transfer will see your recently traced pension transferred to a new pension scheme with a new provider. This is something that should be part of your investment strategy, particularly when doing financial planning targeted toward your retirement.

If you’ve traced multiple workplace pensions, consolidating workplace pensions could be a good idea, especially if the pensions you have found have been underperforming or you want to simplify your finances by only having one pension and your retirement savings all in one place.

Whether you retire at 55 (rising to 57 in 2028) or later, you have a wide range of options when taking money from your pension:

• Taking income via a regular, monthly drawdown
• Going down the flexible access route, taking money as and when you need it
• Taking your whole pension pot in one lump sum
• Purchasing an annuity

Don’t forget that you can usually only take 25% of your pension pots tax-free. The balance could be subject to income tax. If you do want to take early retirement, it’s important to know (a) how to invest money and (b) how to get your financial planning right.

Getting your pension planning right is crucial. Choosing the right type of pension or other types of investment is no easy task. There are so many things to consider, so don’t be afraid to seek professional, independent advice, and remember – they will probably be able to help you with your question, “Can I find my pensions using my NI number?”.

Ready to track and consolidate your lost pension pots?

Our new Find, Check & Transfer service simplifies managing your pensions. Just provide us with your previous work details, and we’ll handle everything from tracking down your pensions to assessing them for guarantees or penalties. This ensures you have all the necessary information before you decide to transfer.

If you’d like more information, or any help with getting started, you can speak to a member of our team at any time by booking an appointment online, sending us an email or giving us a call, and we’ll be happy to help.

FAQs

Is there any free help available to find a pension using my NI number?

Yes, there is. You can access the UK government’s Pension Tracing Service free of charge, however this won’t give a definitive answer and you will still have to do a lot of work to find out more details and get access to your lost pensions.

Can I find my lost pensions using my NI number only?

No, you can’t. You also need to have the names and contact details of the employer that set up the workplace pension, the name and address of the pension provider, plus the name of the pension scheme itself.

Why should I learn how to find my old pensions?

Money paid into a pension set up in your name is legally and rightfully yours. If you track it down, you can use it to provide yourself with a better income in your retirement. After the age of 55 (rising to 57 in 2028), you can also withdraw 25% tax-free to do with as you wish.