Exclusive:
Published ahead of the UK’s National Pension Tracing Day on October 27, a new analysis by the charity the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) found that around 3.3million savings pots – worth around £31billion in total – are considered “lost” in the UK
One man has explained how he boosted his pension savings by nearly £40,000 after finding eight lost savings pots.
New analysis by the charity the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) – published ahead of the National Pension Tracing Day on October 27 – recently found around 3.3million pension pots, worth a collective £31billion, are considered “lost” in the UK. Barry, from Hampshire, was part of these statistics not too long ago.
Barry told the Mirror that he had secured his first job in IT and remained in the industry for thirty years. During his time, he had a fair number of different jobs and employers, which subsequently meant he had a fair few workplace pension pots.
He said: “When you’re younger, you start working and you get your salary and then they tell you they’re setting up a pension for you and that’s it really. I’ve had a few jobs, and It’s always been the same thing. I started a new job, I joined the pension, and I didn’t think anything about it. I’ve always known I’ve had these pots as I would receive letters now and again, but I didn’t think long-term about any of them. A little dismissive and irresponsible really.”
Have you found money in lost pension pots? Let us know: mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
However, Barry says his mindset changed after his mum passed away unexpectedly last year and he helped his dad go through his mum’s affairs. He said: “When you’re going through the grieving process, a lot of things go through your head. I just couldn’t sleep one night, it was kind of going round and round my head everything my dad was dealing with, and mum’s pension and I just thought, I need to find what I’ve got.”
In that moment, Barry sat up and grabbed his phone to Google how to find lost pensions. After a little bit of scrolling, he came across the pension tracing service Penny. After having a look at what the service entailed and knowing that he was not going to get up and find his National Insurance number at 1am, Barry decided to set up a Penny account the next day.
Penny helps people find their lost savings pots and offers plans and pension investment options that can be managed through its app. The service charges a 0.75% fee per year on the value of the pension, which is called the Annual Management Charge (AMC). This fee falls within the Workplace Pension charge cap of 0.75%.
You can track down your lost pension pots yourself for free by contacting ex-employers and digging out old paperwork. The Government also has a free Pension Tracing Service tool. This service allows you to enter the name of an employer, so you can find the contact details of the pension provider they use.
Barry set up his account in January of this year, providing them with all the information he could to help them in their search. These things included his National Insurance number, address, and former employers’ names. Barry received the first notification for a found pension pot just a few weeks later. He added: “It was so quick, I’ve always joked with friends and family that I’ve got 50p in a pot here and 50p in a pot there, but I never actually knew. So to finally find one was a relief really.”
After this, more and more pension pots were discovered each with a different amount. The smallest of Barry’s pots was around £400, while the biggest discovery was from a job he had for around seven years, which contained nearly £20,000. Overall, Barry found a total of eight different pension pots, which had an overall value of around £40,000.
Barry said: “It was so much more than I ever thought I had. I knew I paid into these schemes, so I knew there was money out there but all of a sudden there it was, I am £40,000 better off. I know it’s not huge, but when you have zero, so I felt excitement, I guess. I thought I’ve actually got something.”
Barry has now managed to consolidate all of his pensions into the Penny, including his £6,000 pension pot from his most recent employer after leaving the firm. He added: “I have recently had a life change and I’m now working as a personal trainer and have my own business. So I wanted to be able to see and manage everything in one place.” Barry noted that this was particularly important as he now had to navigate his pensions being self-employed.
However, Barry warned that it wasn’t all plain sailing as he had to put in a lot of man-hours to get his pensions transferred into the same pot, and it included a fair chunk of paperwork. He said: “You would think it was a simple process, going from point A to B, but it wasn’t. Penny was such a great help with it all though. I’ve given Penny all the information, and they’ve taken care of it.”
Barry said the discovery of the pension pots gave him “peace of mind” and he believes he now has some control over his savings. He said: “It’s definitely given me something to play with but calm? Not so much. I’m on a new path and in the future I’m hoping to be in a better position to put more into my pension and I’m in a better position now as I am more aware of it and I can take action now.”
Barry says he has spread the word about his discoveries to friends and family to encourage them to look into their pensions. He added: “You need to be a little proactive. There’s either you won’t find anything, or there will be something out there with your name on it.”
