Martin Lewis has urged anyone over 40 to check for lost pensions, revealing that over £30 billion in pension savings is unclaimed across the UK. The average forgotten pot is worth just under £10,000, with some individuals discovering far larger sums.
Speaking on the Martin Lewis Money Show Pensions Special, the MoneySavingExpert founder explained that losing track of a pension is surprisingly easy. Common reasons include moving house, changing jobs, getting married, or a pension provider being renamed or merged.
Lewis highlighted one case where a person found £45,000 in a lost pension. He emphasised that the process of tracing lost pensions is free and takes only a few minutes, urging viewers: 'It is worth a check.'
To find lost pensions, Lewis recommends starting with old paperwork and contacting former employers. If that fails, the Pension Tracing Service on gov.uk can help, as it contains details of 200,000 pension schemes. For those still stuck, Gretel.co.uk offers a free service that performs a soft credit check to match old addresses with lost assets.
Lewis specifically directed his advice at people in their 40s, 50s, and 60s who have worked for multiple employers. Searches for 'find lost pension' have surged by over 230% according to Google data.
