I was stunned after finding almost £40,000 in lost pension cash – how to check if you’re missing out too

SOFTWARE technologist Alex Fielder could ne'er person imagined unearthing astir £40,000 in pension pots that he’d mislaid way of.

The 44-year-old, who lives successful Andover, Hampshire, with his woman and 2 children, acceptable astir uncovering immoderate forgotten funds aft being made redundant backmost successful 2021, aft being furloughed.

Fortunately, Alex was lone retired of enactment for a mates of weeks earlier being hired by different steadfast - but 2 years later, helium was made redundant again.

He was past with this steadfast for conscionable shy of 2 years earlier being made redundant a 2nd time.

The abrupt daze of being made redundant near him feeling the request to get his finances successful order.

“A operation of having experienced redundancy [twice] and watching a bully person of excavation get sick was a stark reminder to maine that ‘life happens,’ and that you ne'er rather cognize what’s astir the corner," helium said.

"That’s erstwhile I decided I needed to get my ducks successful a row, conscionable successful case.”

He started hunting astir for aged paperwork relating to aged pensions but didn’t marque overmuch progress.

One day, erstwhile helium was moving retired of a co-working space in Andover, helium got chatting to idiosyncratic who knew each about Penny, an app which traces your aged pension pots, and decided to springiness it a go.

After downloading the Penny app in January 2023, Alex realised helium had 4 pots that he’d mislaid way of, dating backmost to 2002.

“I archetypal started paying into a pension aged 21,” helium said.

“But I’ve moved jobs several times since then. Having worked successful antithetic places implicit much than 2 decades, it’s truly hard to support connected apical of everything.

"When I stopped to deliberation astir it, I realised I wasn’t definite precisely however galore pensions I had.”

The missing pensions problem

Alex’s communicative is much communal that you mightiness imagine.

Recent figures suggest millions of savers are thought to person mislaid way of aged pots worthy thousands of pounds.

According to caller findings from the Pensions Policy Institute, a whopping £26.6 cardinal is sitting successful pensions crossed the UK wherever the supplier is nary longer successful interaction with the saver, affecting astir 2.8 cardinal people. 

The average lost pension, it found, amounts to astir £9,500, with those aged 55 to 75 seeing an mean of £16,004 in misplaced pots.

A separate report by supplier PensionBee earlier this twelvemonth came retired with akin findings, revealing that 1 successful 10 workers judge they’ve mislaid a cookware worthy £10,000 oregon more.

Finding Penny, an app which aims to assistance workers consolidate their pensions, proved to beryllium a spot of a turning constituent for Alex.

With the assistance of the nifty tool, the savvy saver soon recovered retired helium had 1 cookware with The People’s Pension, 1 with Willis Towers Watson, 1 with Scottish Widows, and 1 with Standard Life.

Alex said: “There were antithetic amounts successful each, ranging up to a immense £16,000 successful one.”

Discovering this has been a spot of a game-changer for him.

“It's fixed maine a overmuch clearer thought of however overmuch I request to prevention betwixt present and the extremity of my moving beingness to bask a decent retirement.”

According to figures from the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association, the mean level of yearly income required for a azygous idiosyncratic to unrecorded a ‘comfortable’ status is £43,100. For couples, this fig stands astatine £59,000.

While utilizing the Penny app has been casual and hassle-free for Alex, getting the pension pots transferred crossed to Penny from the assorted different providers successful question has not been rather truthful plain sailing.

Alex said: “The archetypal cookware which got moved was the 1 I’d accrued with The People’s Pension betwixt 2015 and 2021.

"This transportation completed successful July 2023 and was wholly seamless.”

"The acquisition with the Standard Life pension was besides precise straightforward.

“I’d accrued this cookware portion moving for a institution which I near successful 2023,” said Alex. “Once again, it each happened wrong weeks.”

The full transferred from these 2 pots amounted to astir £20,000.

However, 2 of his different pots are taking overmuch longer and he's made a ailment with the firms.

He said: “Thankfully, Penny has been large astatine chasing the troublesome providers. I’m present hoping the ailment volition assistance to velocity things along.”

Peace of caput from uncovering the pension pots

For Alex, 1 of the biggest things to travel retired of tracking down mislaid funds – and combining them into 1 spot – is the bid of caput it provides.

He said: “Now that I’m good connected the mode to having each my pension savings successful 1 place, I tin unbend a batch much arsenic I cognize wherever they are – and however I tin entree them.

"I tin besides walk this accusation connected to my adjacent of kin, meaning there’s 1 little happening for loved ones to interest about.”

Bringing pots unneurotic has enactment Alex backmost successful control.

While the wealth Alex has recovered via Penny is not huge, it’s surely a precise invited boost.

“Finding these missing pots volition hopefully marque financing my aboriginal years a small easier,” helium said. “It could truly assistance amended my prime of beingness erstwhile I’m older.”

This is particularly important for the hard-working dad, arsenic helium doesn’t person immoderate different savings earmarked for retirement.

How to way down your ain pensions

With Penny, each you request to bash is supply details specified arsenic your National Insurance number and immoderate accusation you person astir aged jobs. This could beryllium the sanction of your employer, the dates you worked there, and the sanction of your pension provider, if you tin retrieve it.

Alex said: “Tracking down mislaid and forgotten pots truly is truthful casual to bash with Penny arsenic the app is truly user-friendly.I f you person queries, you get responses precise rapidly via instant messaging. There’s a existent idiosyncratic who tin help.”

Once you’ve located forgotten funds, Penny past combines them into 1 caller pot. You tin presumption this via a dashboard connected the app.

Penny charges 0.75% for managing your pension and determination is nary further fee. The lone objection is if you opt to enactment your wealth successful an ‘ethical fund.’ In this case, you volition get charged 0.78%.

If you are idiosyncratic who has tons of antithetic pensions, you whitethorn leap astatine the thought of bringing them each unneurotic arsenic this volition mean you person little paperwork to woody with.

You mightiness adjacent beryllium capable to prevention by combining pots into a supplier with a little fee. But you bash request to cheque this is the close determination for you.

It’s important to spot if determination are exit fees oregon imaginable penalties that whitethorn beryllium incurred for transferring your pots. You indispensable besides find retired whether you hazard missing retired connected valuable benefits by doing so, specified arsenic guaranteed annuity rates.