Households across the UK are being urged to take a few minutes to check for a forgotten pension windfall that could be worth an average of £9,500. A new study has revealed that it takes just over seven minutes to start the process of locating a lucrative lost pension pot.
The Seven-Minute Pension Hunt
The research was conducted for the Pension Attention campaign and involved a timed trial with 400 participants. The study found that it took an average of seven minutes and 29 seconds to use the government's pension tracing service and locate contact details for an old pension provider.
Participants used the UK Government's online 'find pension contact details' platform. The trial only included people whose former employer was listed on the website. Volunteers recorded the time it took to access the site, find their provider's information, and make initial contact by phone or post.
A Problem Worth Millions
According to the campaign organisers, each forgotten pension pot holds an average of £9,500. Mark Smith, a representative for the Pension Attention campaign, advised: "With just a few minutes, you can give your savings a real boost by visiting pensionattention.co.uk and use the pension tracing tool to reconnect with forgotten pots."
He also recommended thinking back to past employment, checking old paperwork, and ensuring your current details are registered with your pension provider to stay connected to your future savings.
Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, highlighted the scale of the issue. A recent Freedom of Information request showed the Government's tracing service received approximately 274,000 calls in under five years.
"Providing contact details for employers and providers will have helped thousands of people reunite with pensions they lost track of years ago," Morrissey said. "It's a quick call that can leave you thousands of pounds better-off in retirement."
Tracking Down Your Lost Pension
Despite this success, data suggests it is just a drop in the ocean. The Pensions Policy Institute estimates there could be as many as 3.3 million lost pensions in the UK. This represents a significant amount of money that could drastically improve people's quality of life during retirement.
Morrissey offered a step-by-step guide for those looking to track down their money:
- Make a list of all your past employers.
- Check for any old pension paperwork.
- If you suspect you had a pension but have no paperwork, call the pension tracing service. You will need the name of your former employer or the pension provider.
She also noted that once you have found multiple pensions, you might consider consolidating them into one pot to simplify administration and potentially reduce costs. However, she strongly advised checking for any expensive exit fees or the loss of valuable benefits, such as guaranteed annuity rates, before making any transfers.
