Older Britons in one age group have been warned they could be missing out on over £10,000 in lost pension funds, after new research highlighted the vast sums sitting unclaimed.
The Pensions Policy Institute (PPI)'s latest lost pensions survey estimates that there are "around three million lost pension pots in the UK, containing a combined £18.7 billion in assets".
Average Lost Pots by Age Group
The research, which was sponsored by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS), revealed that lost pots are worth an average of £6,220 overall, and considerably more on average for those aged 55-74 (more than £10,000). People in the latter age bracket would be born between October 13, 1951 and October 12, 1971, as of Monday, October 12, 2026.
Commenting on the research, AJ Bell public policy director, Tom Selby said automatic enrolment, which sees employers opening pensions schemes and saving on workers' behalves, "has been one of the great public policy successes of recent decades, ensuring millions of employees are building at least some level of pension savings for retirement".
Why Pots Are Lost
"But as people move jobs throughout their working lives, they often leave old workplace pensions behind, and over time it's easy to lose track of them." He says while the size of the average lost pot "may not sound life-changing on its own, £6,000 can make a significant difference to someone's retirement income".
"That figure rises to £10,000 among those aged over 55 – people who will likely be thinking about retirement in the not-too-distant future – and that is just an average, meaning many will hold much larger forgotten sums."
Finding Lost Pensions
He said customers using his firm's own pension finding tool "have tracked down accounts worth an average of £18,500 when adding up the combined value of pots found by each individual customer, while some have used the service to find and combine pots worth over £1 million".
And while the older cohort may have larger sums on average, the majority of lost pensions are held by those under 55, the research shows.
"Retirement may still feel like it is a long way off in your mid 50s but keeping track of your pensions is one of the most important steps you can take to stay in control of your long-term finances - and the sooner you can get in control, the better," Mr Selby added.
"Once you've got a picture of your pension savings, you can decide if you need to start contributing more, as well as working out whether you might be better off switching to an account with lower costs, better service or investment choice, or a combination of all three."
Considerations Before Combining Pensions
"Combining pensions isn't necessarily the right move for everyone and savers should take the time to shop around for the right provider, taking into account factors such as charges, choice, flexibility and service."
"Some older-style pensions can have valuable guarantees attached that will be lost on transfer, so checking whether this is the case is also crucial. For those who aren't sure, it may be worth speaking to a financial adviser or reading up free resources like those on Money Helper."
"Whether you ultimately decide to combine pensions or not, the first step is to get a handle on what you've got and where it is invested."
He noted that the Government is working on Pension Dashboards, "which has the potential to be transformative when it arrives, allowing savers to view all their pension savings in one place", but it will have limitations, and people can take action now without them.
"Services such as the government's Pension Tracing Service and the pension finding tools available from AJ Bell and other providers can already help reunite people with lost pension pots and make it easier to take charge of retirement savings," he added.
