One In Five Lose Track Of Their Pension Savings


Keeping track of pensions over a lifetime of moving jobs is too much for some people, a new study has found.

Two out of three people end up with more than one pension.

One in five have lost track of at least one of their savings plans.

An overwhelming seven out of 10 would happily consolidate their retirement savings into one pension if they were offered a financial incentive, says the research by pension provider Aegon.

Workers told the firm that they had trouble keeping tabs on their money and figuring out how much their retirement savings were worth because they moved between an average 11 jobs during their lifetime.

Managing money

Almost 40% of workers had no idea how much they had saved or the retirement income this might generate.

Kate Smith, Head of Pensions at Aegon, said: “People have diverse careers often involving multiple jobs with different companies. The introduction of auto-enrolment has also led to more than 7 million people saving into a pension and a big increase in total number of pension savers.

“Most people now have more than one pension but it’s a concern to find that 21% of these people have lost track of some of their savings. It’s hard to plan your retirement without a full view of your savings and it’s important everyone has a clear idea of how much their pension is worth and what their state pension entitlement is likely to be.”

The study also revealed few people know how to find a lost pension.

Tracing a lost pension

The government runs a pension tracing service. Inputting a former employer into the online search should bring up details of who runs the scheme today.

Another service also provides state pension forecasts.

But do not consolidate pensions before taking advice from the free Pension Wise service or a paid-for recommendation from an IFA.

Moving a pension could mean losing valuable irreplaceable benefits.

“There can be benefits to consolidation as many older pensions often have complex or more expensive charges. They are also unlikely to offer access to the new range of pension freedoms or give access online. However, people should take time to understand the pros and cons of consolidation to see if it’s right for them,” said Smith.