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Most people who have had four or five jobs have four or five pensions. Very few can tell you where they all are, or what they are worth. This is the first thing we do with anyone planning their retirement — and it is often the most surprising.

In short
  • Around £31bn sits in roughly 3.3 million lost UK pension pots.
  • The Pension Tracing Service is free and only needs an employer's name.
  • Combining pensions can cut cost and complexity — but not always.
  • Check for protected tax-free cash, guaranteed annuity rates and defined benefit promises before transferring anything.
  • The minimum access age rises from 55 to 57 on 6 April 2028.

How many UK pension pots are lost, and what are they worth?

Research by the Pensions Policy Institute puts the value of lost and forgotten UK pension pots at around £31 billion, spread across roughly 3.3 million pots — an average of just under £9,500 each. That figure has risen by about 60% since 2018, largely because automatic enrolment means people now accumulate a small pension at almost every job they hold.

An average of £9,500 does not sound like a fortune. Three or four of them, invested for another fifteen years, is a meaningful part of a retirement.

Why do pensions get lost in the first place?

  • You moved house and never told the pension provider.
  • The employer was taken over, renamed, or went out of business.
  • The scheme was moved to a different provider without you noticing.
  • You changed your surname.
  • You simply forgot the job existed — short contracts and agency work are the usual culprits.

How do you trace an old workplace pension?

The government's Pension Tracing Service is free and will give you contact details for a scheme if you can supply the employer's name. It will not tell you whether you have a pension or what it is worth — it just finds the administrator. From there you write to them with your dates of employment, National Insurance number and any previous names.

It is worth digging out old payslips and P60s first. An employer's name and the years you worked there is usually enough to start.

Should you combine them?

Sometimes. Bringing pensions together can cut charges, reduce paperwork, give you a wider choice of investments and make it far easier to see whether you are on track. But consolidation is not automatically the right answer, and this is where advice earns its money.

Some older plans carry benefits that disappear the moment you transfer:

  • Protected tax-free cash above the usual 25%. Some older schemes allow more, and that entitlement can be lost on transfer.
  • Guaranteed annuity rates. Policies sold decades ago sometimes promise an income rate far above anything available today.
  • A protected pension age. A small number of schemes allow access before the normal minimum age.
  • Defined benefit promises. A final salary pension is an income for life, and giving that up is a serious, separately regulated decision.

We check every plan for these before recommending anything. Quite often the advice is to leave one pension exactly where it is and tidy up the rest.

When does the minimum pension age rise from 55 to 57?

From 6 April 2028 the earliest age you can normally access a private pension rises from 55 to 57. If you were born on or before 5 April 1971 you will have reached 55 before the change. If you were born after 5 April 1973 the higher age applies to you. Those born between those two dates sit in the middle and should check their position carefully, because a birthday a day either side of the deadline can mean waiting a further two years.

What should you do once you have found your old pensions?

Once everything is on one page you can answer the question that actually matters: given what I have, and what I am still paying in, what income does that buy me? That is step two — and it is a much easier conversation than the one people dread.

Source: lost-pot figures are from the Pensions Policy Institute, Briefing Note 138 — Lost Pensions 2024.

This article is general information, not personal advice. The value of investments can fall as well as rise and you may get back less than you invested. Transferring a pension is not right for everyone and you may give up valuable guarantees. Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and may change in future. The information contained within this article was accurate at the date of publication and is subject to change. Reviewed by Bright Wealth before publication.