Are your pension savings hiding? Here’s how to track them down

It’s a great time to consider finding any lost or forgotten pensions. Tracking down these funds could give your retirement savings a significant boost, as according to the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) over £31 billion in unclaimed pensions are waiting to be discovered across the UK.

Due to frequent job changes throughout our careers and moving house more often—sometimes without notifying pension providers—it’s easy for pensions to get lost. On average, people in the UK are expected to work for 12 different employers over their lifetime, making it common to lose track of workplace pensions. As the gap between retirement standards of living continues to widen, taking steps to locate and consolidate your pensions can bring you closer to a financially secure future.

Why is it so crucial to find and combine your pensions?

Combining multiple pensions into one place makes it much easier to keep an eye on your savings, track their performance, and plan for retirement by making sure you’re contributing enough to your pension for the future you want.

When your pension savings are all over the place it can be hard to know how much you’ve saved, how much you should be contributing regularly or what you’re paying in fees.

Keeping track of the fees you pay on multiple pensions can be tricky and time-consuming. Also, some older pension schemes come with high fees, which can eat away at your returns over time. By consolidating your pensions, you will have a clearer understanding of the fees you pay and might even reduce fees and keep more of your money invested in your future.

Having your pensions in one place also allows you to review where your money is invested quickly and easily (and make sure some of your money isn’t invested in underperforming funds). You should make sure that your pension portfolio matches your risk appetite and long-term goals.

If you need help with this, Moneyfarm will ask you some questions to work out the best pension plan for you – taking away the guesswork. For more detailed help, you can book a consultation with one of our investment consultants.

How Moneyfarm’s Find, Check & Transfer Service can help you

Tracking down old pensions and deciding what to do with them may sound like a daunting task, and many people put off this job for that reason. But Moneyfarm’s Find, Check & Transfer service is here to help you every step of the way – doing all the hard work for you. The service is completely free and is easier and quicker than you may think. 

• Step 1 – Find: With just a few details about you and your past employers, we can start to track down your old pensions for you – using LinkedIn to check the dates and names of old employers can be very helpful for this part.
• Step 2 – Check: We will check any pensions we find for any fees or any benefits attached to them, making sure you don’t walk away from valuable benefits. 
• Step 3 – Transfer: Once your pensions are found and checked, you can consolidate them into a new pension with Moneyfarm, making it easier to manage, track, and invest. We will also ask a few questions to make sure your new Moneyfarm pension is invested in the right way for you.

Pension Transfer Cashback

Now might be an ideal moment to bring your old pensions together with Moneyfarm, with a cashback offer available when you transfer an existing pension. Consolidate your pensions into a new Moneyfarm plan that’s invested in the right way for you and you’ll get up to £3,000 cashback when you transfer*. Find out more about the cashback offer here.

How to get started

Getting started is the tricky bit – we can help with everything else! Just follow these three easy steps:

1. Gather any pension documents you have and see if there are any you need to combine.

2. Check your job history and dates – LinkedIn and old pay slips can be helpful for this part – and try to work out if you’re missing any pensions from any of those old jobs.

3. Use Moneyfarm and our free Find, Check & Transfer service to find your lost money and combine it all into a new pension that’s right for you.

Secure your financial future 

By finding and consolidating your old pensions, you can ensure your money is working as hard for you as possible. You also reduce the risk of losing track of your pension savings again in the future. Taking control of your pensions now is an important step in securing the retirement lifestyle you’ve always dreamed of – and could stop you from falling into the retirement income gap. 

Carina Chambers, Pension Expert, has a clear focus – to help people with their pensions and to give them a better financial future. For the last 5 years, she’s focused on making pensions more engaging and accessible with clear, straightforward guidance.

*Capital at risk. UK residents, 18+. T&Cs apply. Transfer £5,000 for £50 cashback, £300,000 for max £3,000. 24-month investment required. Registration closes 02/12/2024.