Find my lost pension: tracing and finding lost pensions

This is the first question you need to ask yourself.

Depending on when you were a member of the scheme, and the type of scheme, you might not have automatically been entitled to a pension.

You might have a certificate from a pension scheme, but it doesn’t always mean that you have a pension entitlement.

Over the years the rules around pensions have changed. As a result, whether or not you built up a pension and whether or not a pension still exists for you, may depend on when you were working.

The information below explains whether you may have built up a pension and explains any conditions that may impact on a pension being kept for you.

Please be aware that this is only a rough guide and might vary from pension scheme to pension scheme.

If you left your employer before April 1975, it’s likely you’ll have had your contributions refunded. Some schemes didn’t require the member to pay contributions. And if this was the case, you probably won’t be entitled to any pension benefits from the scheme.

If you left your employer after April 1988, you might be entitled to a pension. This is providing you had completed two years’ service. If you left with less than two years’ service, you might have had your contributions refunded.

Most pension schemes must send you a statement each year.

These statements include an estimate of the retirement income that your pension pot might give you when you reach retirement.

First, check to see if you have any old paperwork which might have the name of your employer or pension scheme or details of the scheme's administrator or provider. This will give you a good starting point.

If you’re no longer getting these statements – perhaps because you’ve changed your address – to track down the pension you can contact:

• the pension provider
• your former employer, if it was a workplace pension, or
• the Pension Tracing Service.

If you know which provider your pension was with, your first step is to contact them.

There’s a link below to a template letter for you to complete and send to them. However you contact them, you should provide as many of the following details as possible:

• your plan number.
• your date of birth.
• your National Insurance number.
• the date your pension was set up.

And by asking the following questions, you’ll get a thorough overview of your pension pot:

• What is the current value of the pension pot?
• Is there a nominated recipient for any death benefits?
• How much has been paid into the pension pot?
• What charges are you paying for management of the pension pot?
• How much income is the pension pot likely to pay out at your chosen retirement date?
• How is the pension pot being invested and what options are there for making changes?
• Would there be any charges if you wanted to transfer the pension pot to another provider?
• Are there any special features, such as guarantees like a guaranteed annuity rate or a guaranteed minimum pension?
• What are the death benefits – in other words, how much money would be paid from the pension if you died?

If you want to trace a workplace pension – a scheme arranged by a previous employer – your first point of contact should be the employer.

However, if your employer provided access to a personal or stakeholder scheme, contact the pension provider if you know their details.

If you don’t know the pension provider’s details, ask your previous employer – they should be able to provide these.

Again, you’ll find a link below to a template letter you can use for this.

The main information you’ll need to provide is:

• your National Insurance number
• the date you stopped working there
• the date you started work with the employer
• the dates you joined and left the pension scheme.

And the main questions to ask are:

• what type of plan it is – for example, defined benefit or defined contribution?
• unless it’s a defined benefit scheme, which pension provider is your pension with?

It might be worth speaking to former colleagues to see if they’re able to help with tracing your pension. They may be able to give you details of the scheme, such as its name or contact information.

If you paid into a personal pension, you might be able to check your bank statements to see where your payments were going.

Was your pension a defined benefit or final salary? Then it’s possible that it’s been taken over by the Pension Protection Fund (PPF).

When an employer is no longer able to pay the pension benefits promised to its members, the PPF will take over and provide the benefits (subject to limits).

You can find a list of schemes the PPF looks after at PPFOpens in a new window

Have you’ve tried all the options above and are still unable to find your pension? The following services could help you to find the relevant contact details.

This is a free service you can use to trace lost accounts, pensions and investments. 

It will attempt to trace your pensions every 14 days using basic information like your name, current address and date of birth. You do not need to know the names of the pension providers or your policy numbers.

This trade association gives you steps to find the relevant contact details for the provider now responsible for your policyOpens in a new window