He warned there could be ‘enormous money’ on the line
Martin Lewis has urged the public to carry out a pension check that could make a substantial difference to their retirement finances. He raised awareness of the important issue on his BBC podcast.
The consumer champion said there could be “enormous money” available for those with lost pensions waiting to be claimed. He said that there is around £87billion worth of lost pension assets out there. One listener, David, contacted the show to share his success story. He had a contracted-out pension with a former employer, into which he had contributed over several years, before cancelling his payments and forgetting about the retirement pot until a few years ago.
On tracking down the funds, he discovered the pot had grown from £22,000 to more than £89,000. Losing track of a pension can happen when personal details change, such as switching employers or moving house, without notifying your pension provider.
£150,000 boost
Mr Lewis said he is aware of people who have traced pensions worth more than £150,000. He praised David for realising he had lost touch with his pension, pointing out that many people are completely unaware they even have a missing pension.
The financial guru said: “At least he remembered. Most people don’t even know where their pension is or what it is about. That’s why we need to reconnect them.”
Discussing who might be impacted, Mr Lewis said: “There is a real chance, especially the older you are, especially if you’ve moved house many times, If you didn’t update your contact details, you changed job, if your pension provider didn’t hear, or your investment company merged or renamed, you are potentially likely to get money.
“Just to say, on pensions that average value of lost assets is £9,500, so we need to try and get people their money back.”
How do I find out if I have a lost pension?
If you want to discover whether you have any unclaimed pensions, Mr Lewis said that the initial step is to get in touch with your former employer to request details of the pension scheme. He said you may also be able to trace the pension of someone who has passed away using this method.
The Government also has a pension tracing service accessible on the gov.uk website. This service holds information on more than 200,000 schemes, allowing you to identify which scheme you were enrolled in.
You can then reach out to the provider to ask if they hold a pension in your name.
