A woman has received an unexpected £18,460 lump sum and secured an additional £2,769 a year in retirement income after tracing an old pension dating back to the 1980s. The discovery came after she watched Martin Lewis discussing forgotten pensions on his ITV programme.
The consumer champion shared the success story in this week's MoneySavingExpert (MSE.com) newsletter after a viewer called Julie contacted the team to explain how she had tracked down the money.
Julie said she had not paid directly into the pension scheme and expected it to be worth very little. However, after spending just over a month tracing the pension, she discovered it was worth considerably more than she anticipated.
Julie's Surprising Discovery
She told MoneySavingExpert: "The pension tracing took just over a month, and the final figures were absolutely unbelievable."
Julie confirmed she had received £18,460 as a lump sum and would receive £2,769 every year from the pension.
Her experience is a reminder that people who have worked for several employers during their careers may have pension savings they have lost track of, particularly if they have moved home or changed their name.
Free Pension Tracing Service
The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) provides a free Pension Tracing Service to help people locate contact details for old workplace and personal pension schemes. The service is available to people in Scotland, England and Wales, and can be accessed online at GOV.UK.
It is important to understand that the service does not confirm whether someone has a pension or how much it might be worth. Instead, it provides contact details for pension schemes so people can make enquiries directly.
How to Find an Old or Forgotten Pension
MoneyHelper, the UK Government-backed financial guidance service, recommends starting by making a list of all previous employers, including companies where you may have worked for only a short period. People should also check old paperwork, including pension statements, payslips and correspondence from previous employers, for information about workplace pension schemes.
If you cannot remember the name of a pension provider, you can contact a former employer to ask which scheme was used during your employment. The free Pension Tracing Service can then help locate contact details for the relevant pension provider or scheme administrator.
You will need the name of a previous employer or pension provider to use the service. Once you have located the pension provider, you can contact them to find out whether you have any pension savings or benefits remaining in the scheme.
MoneyHelper advises that providers may ask for information including your National Insurance number, previous names and addresses, the dates you worked for the employer, and details of when the pension may have been established. Providing as much information as possible can help the provider locate your records.
If a pension is found, you should also make sure the provider has your current address and contact details so you can receive future statements and information about your retirement savings.
Free Pension Tracing Service Contact Details
The DWP's Pension Tracing Service can be accessed online or by telephone. Online: find pension contact details on GOV.UK. Telephone: 0800 731 0175. Opening hours: Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm.
The service can also provide contact details for another person's pension scheme if you have their permission.
People who discover an old pension should check the benefits attached to it before making decisions about transferring or accessing the money. Some older workplace pensions may include valuable guarantees or benefits that could be lost if the pension is transferred to another provider.
MoneyHelper provides further free guidance on tracing lost pensions, including the steps to take if a former employer has closed or a pension provider has changed its name.
