How to find old pensions

Yes, your National Insurance (NI) number is one of the most useful pieces of information when trying to trace lost pensions. Pension providers often use your NI number to identify your records, especially if you’ve changed your name or address since the pension was set up.

Use your NI number to help you:

• Contact previous employers and ask if you were a member of a workplace pension scheme.
• Reach out to pension providers directly. Provide your NI number, full name, and employment dates to help them locate your pension pot.
• Use the Pension Tracing Service (more on this below), which may help you find the contact details of pension schemes linked to your employment history.

How to track down old pensions

Lost pensions can happen for a variety of reasons:

• You’ve moved house and failed to update your contact details with your pension provider.
• You’ve changed jobs frequently, and each employer had a different pension scheme.
• Your pension provider has merged, rebranded, or been taken over, making it harder to know who to contact.

Here’s a brief list of what to do to help you find a lost pension, and how to deal with it once you have found it.

1. List your previous employers

Start by noting down every company you’ve worked for, even if only briefly. Include approximate dates and job titles. Don’t forget to include any personal pensions you may have set up independently.

2. Search your paperwork

Look for old pension statements, payslips, or letters from pension providers. These documents may contain the name of the pension scheme or provider, which is essential for tracing your pension.

3. Use the free Pension Tracing Service

Losing track of pensions is fairly common and the UK government offers a free pension tracing service at GOV.UK. You’ll need the name of your previous employer or pension provider to use it. The service will give you the contact details of the pension scheme administrator, but it won’t confirm whether you have a pension or its value.

3. Consider consolidation

If you have ended up with multiple pension pots, you might want to consider bringing your pensions together into one scheme. This can make it easier to manage your retirement savings going forward and increase your options for investing or taking benefits. 

However, whether this is beneficial very much depends on the type of scheme. You should be very careful combining pensions to avoid missing out on any guarantees or incurring unnecessary transfer costs. 

In particular, defined benefits pensions such as final salary schemes are generally best left alone owing to the valuable ‘guaranteed income’ offered. You must always take regulated financial advice if you’re considering transferring one.

Find out more: Should I combine my pensions?

4. Update beneficiary information

Make sure your pension provider knows who should receive your pension in the event of your death. This is especially important if your circumstances have changed due to marriage, divorce, or having children.

5. Plan your retirement

With a clearer picture of your pension savings, you can start planning how and when to access your funds with more confidence.

Approaching retirement age often means taking important and sometimes complex decisions regarding your finances, so it’s wise to consult a regulated financial adviser or use the government’s Pension Wise service for guidance. Talking to a financial coach can also help put you in control of your retirement strategy.