POT LUCK
Millions of savers could have £10k pensions they don’t know about – simple ways to track down ‘lost’ cash
We explain how to track down your old pots
MILLIONS of workers could be missing out on pensions worth £10,000, new analysis has found.
An estimated 4.8million pension pots are currently "missing" in the UK, according to new research by pension provider PensionBee.
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And the firm found almost one in 10 workers believe they have lost a pension pot worth £10,000 or more - equating to more than three million people.
The total amount of hard-earned retirement money now estimated to be lost in the system is around £50billion.
This is a huge increase on the roughly 1.6million pots estimated to be missing in 2019, worth a combined £19.4billion.
These figures are only expected to increase, according to PensionBee, with the total number of pension pots set to rise by 130% by 2050, from 106million to 243million in total.
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The huge rise in pensions is due to workers switching jobs more frequently than they did in the past, PensionBee said.
Today's youngest workers are now expected to have at least five pension pots by 65, although some people have accumulated more than 20 pensions over their lifetime.
How do pensions go missing?
When you join a new company, you are usually "automatically enrolled" into that firm's workplace pension scheme.
If you change jobs, you then join a new workplace pension scheme with your new employer.
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This has created a situation where some people have a number of different pensions and there are concerns many struggling Brits have forgotten about some of their older pots.
If you lose the paperwork for your old pensions and forget which provider they are with, it can be difficult to track them down.
The Government is working on a number of options to help resolve this problem.
One of those is the beleaguered "pensions dashboard" - a facility where workers will be able to view all of the pension pots they have accumulated over their lifetime in one place.
The dashboard was first announced as a policy at the 2016 Budget by then-chancellor George Osborne - but its implementation has been repeatedly pushed back and a final deadline isn't confirmed.
The Government also recently confirmed it intends to push ahead with "pot for life" plans - as revealed by The Sun.
These proposals could include workers maintaining one pension provider throughout their career, or having one pension pot which follows them from job to job.
While the Government has confirmed its commitment to this idea, it is unlikely to happen anytime soon and the final policy has not yet been decided.
Becky O’Connor, director of public affairs at PensionBee, warned that until any of these policies materialise, it's important for savers to hang onto their pension paperwork and provider names.
"For anyone who loses track of pensions, the result can, unfortunately, be a poorer retirement," she said.
"The Government is working on a number of solutions to help solve this issue, including pension dashboards and new ‘pot for life’ proposals.
"It’s important to keep track of old paperwork, employer and pension provider names and policy numbers and if you would prefer to keep pensions together, consider consolidating them in one place.”
What are the different types of pensions?
WE round-up the main types of pension and how they differ:
- Personal pension or self-invested personal pension (SIPP) - This is probably the most flexible type of pension as you can choose your own provider and how much you invest.
- Workplace pension - The Government has made it compulsory for employers to automatically enrol you in your workplace pension unless you opt out.
These so-called defined contribution (DC) pensions are usually chosen by your employer and you won't be able to change it. Minimum contributions are 8%, with employees paying 5% (1% in tax relief) and employers contributing 3%. - Final salary pension - This is also a workplace pension but here, what you get in retirement is decided based on your salary, and you'll be paid a set amount each year upon retiring. It's often referred to as a gold-plated pension or a defined benefit (DB) pension. But they're not typically offered by employers anymore.
- New state pension - This is what the state pays to those who reach state pension age after April 6 2016. The maximum payout is £203.85 a week and you'll need 35 years of National Insurance contributions to get this. You also need at least ten years' worth to qualify for anything at all.
- Basic state pension - If you reach the state pension age on or before April 2016, you'll get the basic state pension. The full amount is £156.20 per week and you'll need 30 years of National Insurance contributions to get this. If you have the basic state pension you may also get a top-up from what's known as the additional or second state pension. Those who have built up National Insurance contributions under both the basic and new state pensions will get a combination of both schemes.
How can I track down lost pension pots?
Tracking down your old pensions is possible, even if you can't remember what or where they are.
There are several services available to help you track them down, including the government's online (or call 0800 731 0193).
AJ Bell also has a to locate old pension pots - visit its website to get started.
You can also try ringing your old employers' HR department to ask for the details of your old pensions.
Provide information like the dates you were employed and when you were paying into a pension, as well as your National Insurance number.
Once you have found your old pensions, it may be worth consolidating them into one place so you can keep track of them more easily in future.
Putting all your money into one modern pension scheme could also mean you pay less in fees.
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To get started, give your new chosen pension provider the details of your old pots and they should do the rest of the work for you.
“Before transferring any old pensions, you should check there aren’t any valuable benefits attached which you may lose or exit charges that will be applied,” Tom Selby, director of public policy at AJ Bell warned.
Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing [email protected].
Plus, you can join our Facebook group to share your tips and stories.
Questions to ask before transferring your pension
IF you're thinking about transferring your pension, here are the key questions to ask, according to the Money Advice Service.
Questions to ask your current provider:
- Can I transfer? There can be restrictions on which pensions you can transfer.
- What is the ‘transfer value’ of my pension? If it’s the same as your pot value, it’s unlikely you’ll be charged a fee when you transfer.
- What fees will I have to pay?
- Will I lose the right to take out my money at a certain age? This is called a ‘protected pension age’.
- Will I lose any , e.g. a guaranteed annuity rate?
- Will I lose the right to take a tax-free lump sum of more than 25% of my pension? This is called a ‘protected tax-free sum’.
Questions to ask your new provider:
- Do I apply to transfer through you or my current provider?
- Are there any fees for transferring in, e.g. set-up fees?
- Do I have to make regular payments into the new pension?
- What investment funds and levels of risk do you offer? You may need help from a financial adviser with this.
- What options do you have for when I want to take my money out?
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