Do you keep track of all your pensions pots?

Last week, I was having dinner and a catch up with a teacher friend, Maggie. Despite the current torment in the education world, she seemed lighter, happier and full of energy. After a little digging, Maggie explained that she now worked only four days a week and was loving it. Wanting more of a work/life balance in her late fifties, she decided to have a real look at her finances. Whilst delving, she recalled that she should have a pension from her City days, back in her roaring 20s. Luckily for Maggie, her forgotten pension was worth over £80,000.

A forgotten pension is not an uncommon tale...

Lost or forgotten pensions pots

The Pension Policy Institute estimates that about 2.8 million pension pots, worth nearly £27 billion, have been lost or forgotten in the UK alone. This is an increase of 75% in the last 4 years alone. Incredibly, as many as 1 in 20 people might have a forgotten pension.  

Why do people forget their pensions?

The main reasons for the problem are:

• Moving house and not informing your pension provider
• Changing name and not informing your pension provider
• Changing job regularly  
• Lack of engagement in your pension
• Lost documentation and not keeping track of your pension
• Becoming ill or dying and no one knowing about your pension

How to trace your pension?

If you think you may have a forgotten pension, here are some of the ways you can hunt them down:

• Use The Pension Tracing Service - a free government service, with a database of more than 200,000 pension schemes, designed to help individuals find their forgotten pensions. You will need to contact the pension administrator yourself.  
• Contact former employers – get in touch with your past employers to ask about any pension schemes you may have been enrolled in.
• Dig through old paperwork – look for any old pension statements or documents and contact the pension administrator directly.
• Consider asking an Independent Financial Advisor to help you.

Be in control of your pensions!

Keeping a note of your pension details and updating your contact information with pension providers is vitally important to prevent forgotten pensions pots. It is a tragedy that so much hard-earned money is lying unclaimed.

Most importantly, keep a record of:

• Your National Insurance Number
• Your pension provider
• Your pension plan number
• The date your pension was set up

In the Auderli app, you can easily and securely keep track of all the information you need about your pension pots, in one safe place. You can also share this information with a professional advisor or a loved one, so you are not the only one who knows!  

Auderli will help you organise and share your most important life information - including your pensions!

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