The Money Saving Expert founder has explained how to check if you are missing out
Thousands of workers could be missing out on hidden pension cash without even realising it, warns Martin Lewis. The consumer champion issued the reminder during Tuesday’s episode of The Martin Lewis Money Show.
Lewis told viewers there is now more than £30 billion sitting in lost pensions across Britain. He explained how many people lose track after changing jobs, moving house or changing their name, while cash can also go missing if pension firms themselves have changed, making it harder for savers to reconnect with old accounts.
Interested in finding out how much you could be owed, and how to get it? The Mirror has a detailed breakdown of everything you need to know.
Research from the Pensions Policy Institute suggests around 3.3 million pension pots are now considered to be lost in the UK. It says the average fund is valued at a whopping £9,500 – a hefty sum that could be life-saving for households as the cost of living continues to squeeze budgets.
Lewis urged viewers to begin the process by searching through their old paperwork and contacting previous employers directly. If that fails, he recommends using the Government’s free Pension Tracing Service available through GOV.UK, which contains information on more than 200,000 pension schemes.
“Especially if you look at your old pension scheme, it doesn’t exist anymore – who’s taken on its assets? Where has it gone? They’ll be able to find that for you,” Lewis explained. He also highlighted free tracing service Gretel, which searches for lost assets linked to old addresses, carrying out a “soft search” that doesn’t affect a person’s credit score.
“Once you’re signed up, it will recheck every 14 days,” he added, before saying people in their 40s, 50s and 60s who have worked for multiple employers should “massively” consider checking.
The former This Morning and Good Morning Britain presenter revealed some savers had uncovered huge sums after searching. He said one person found a pension worth £45,000, while another discovered over £100,000 in forgotten retirement savings.
Financial regulators have long warned that small, scattered pension pots are one of the biggest causes of retirement savings being lost. Industry estimates suggest millions of people in the UK have multiple dormant pensions built up across different jobs.
Experts say consolidating pensions into one pot can make it easier to track savings and reduce the risk of losing contact with providers. However, they also warn that savers should check carefully before transferring, as some older schemes may include valuable guarantees or benefits.
According to pension industry guidance, tracing services can often identify providers even when companies have been taken over or rebranded several times. It adds that keeping personal details such as addresses and employer history up to date is one of the most effective ways to prevent pensions being lost in the first place.
