How do I find a lost pension?

You can trace a lost pension through the government's Pension Tracing Service, old payslips and P60s, or by writing to former employers and their schemes.

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Ways to trace a pension

  1. 1

    The Pension Tracing Service

    A free service run by the Department for Work and Pensions. It finds the scheme's current contact details from an employer name, which helps after a company has been bought, renamed or wound up.

  2. 2

    Your own paperwork

    Old payslips, P60s and annual benefit statements carry scheme names and membership numbers. A membership number speeds up the enquiry.

  3. 3

    Writing to the employer

    Where the company still exists, its payroll or HR team may be able to say which provider ran the scheme and when. Where it does not, the tracing service is the route.

What to have ready

Your National Insurance number, the employer's name, and roughly when you worked there. Previous names and addresses help, because schemes lose track of people after a house move or a change of name.

What to do when you find one

Ask the scheme for a current statement, the type of benefits, the charges, and whether any guarantees are attached.

What type is it?
It is either a pot of money or a promise of an income, and the answer affects every other decision.
What are the charges?
Older personal pensions can carry annual charges well above what is available today, and some carry an exit penalty.
Any guarantees?
A guaranteed annuity rate, protected tax-free cash or an enhanced benefit can be of considerably more value than anything on sale now.

Your scheme membership number is on old payslips, P60s and annual benefit statements.

Related questions

Does the Pension Tracing Service cost anything?

No. It is a free government service.

Can you trace them for me?

Yes, and we do it as part of the health check. We need your authority to approach the schemes, which is a form we send you.

What if the employer no longer exists?

The scheme usually still does, under a different administrator. Where a scheme was wound up, benefits were normally transferred to an insurer or to the Pension Protection Fund, and both can be traced.

Should I move it once I find it?

Not automatically. Consolidation can cut charges, and an older scheme can carry guarantees that are lost on transfer. Check for them before you move anything.

Where this fits

We trace old pensions as part of the complimentary health check.

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The advisers for this subject

Sunny Bharj

Sunny Bharj

Independent Financial Adviser

Tony Springer

Tony Springer

Independent Financial Adviser

Advising through Equity & General Financial Services Limited, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Check the firm on the FCA register under number 474163.

Talk to an adviser

Your first call is with an Account Manager and is at no cost to you. Tell us what is on your mind: a pension you have lost track of, a fixed rate ending, a will you keep meaning to write.

Call 020 8396 0486