Workers in one UK nation could have nearly £40,000 in lost pension savings, analysis suggests. New research from Moneybox revealed people across the country could be missing out as much as £26,042.50, and in Wales, the figure is considerably higher.
According to the wealth management platform, the potential value there rises to almost £38,000, making it the UK's largest potential lost-pension hotspot.
Why pensions go missing
Many workers have had multiple employers throughout their careers, and each employer may have enrolled them in a pension scheme. Each company typically has its own selected plan, which can make it challenging for people to keep track of the funds contributed across different employers.
As a result, it's estimated that billions of pounds in pension savings are being held in lost pots, at a time when cost-of-living pressures are hitting UK households hard.
The Moneybox research, which lays bare the scale of the issue, compared the average number of employers people have had during their working lives with the number of pension pots they believe they currently hold.
The firm says the gap between the two indicates that many workers approaching retirement may have misplaced workplace pensions that have built up over decades.
Regional hotspots for lost pensions
Moneybox used the current average value of a lost pension pot (£9,470) to make their calculations, which it says shows that people in Wales could potentially be missing the equivalent of four pension pots, worth as much as £37,880.
The South East, South West, Scotland, Northern Ireland, North East, East of England and West Midlands were the next-biggest hotspots, with the average gap in these regions amounting to around three pension pots (approximately £28,410 in potential retirement savings).
Meanwhile, people in London, the North West, East Midlands, and Yorkshire and the Humber could potentially have mislaid around two pension pots, worth approximately £18,940, the analysis found.
Benefits of consolidating pensions
The research is part of Moneybox's Get Britain Growing campaign, which encourages people to think about retirement planning like maintaining a garden, arguing that tracking down forgotten pension pots is one of the simplest ways to clear barriers that may be hampering the growth of their future retirement savings.
Identifying these pots has benefits beyond the value of the money itself. The company explains that individual providers charge a fee for managing the pension, and some offer lower rates for larger amounts invested with them, so you can improve your savings by combining various pots.
Merging pots can also lead to greater compound growth, ensuring you're maximising the value of your savings.
Brian Byrnes, director of personal finance at Moneybox, said: "Forgotten pension pots are a bit like weeds in a garden. Left untouched they can hamper the growth of your plants, it’s important to keep tidying them up and keep track of what you’ve planted and where it is. Keeping old pension pots separated could stop your retirement savings from reaching their full potential.
"The good news is that tracking down old pensions is one of the simplest actions people can take to improve their long-term financial future.
"Even if each pot seems relatively small, together they can add up to tens of thousands of pounds that could make a real difference in retirement.
"Retirement planning doesn't have to feel overwhelming. Like gardening, it's about taking small, consistent actions over time.
"Finding an old pension, reviewing your savings or bringing everything together in one place are all simple steps that can help grow a retirement full of possibilities."
You can use the Government's pension tracing service to find contact details for pension administrators, or third party pension search tools like Gretel to help find out whether you've got a small forgotten fortune in pension savings.
