How do I find a pension I had with an old employer?

Unclaimed pensions: There is a treasure trove waiting for some people, so find out how to track down your old pots below

Now everyone is auto enrolled into a new pension each time they change job we are all building up ever more pots, and many of us lose touch with them as time goes on.

The number of lost pensions has jumped 75 per cent to 2.8m over the past four years, and they are now worth 37 per cent more in total at £26.6billion – or £9,500 on average.

Job switching, auto enrolment with every move, and people’s tendency to lose pension information and not update schemes with contact details are all behind the rise in orphaned pots.

The cost of living crisis has highlighted the importance of tracking down lost pensions to boost your eventual retirement income, according to an industry campaign to help people find them.

‘If “lost” pots remain unclaimed, people will find it harder to achieve their desired retirement income and they will be more dependent on the state pension and means-tested benefits,’ says pension consultant Punter Southall Aspire, which is leading the initiative.

‘People risk losing value from missing pots, as they will not have had the chance to choose better pension products, more appropriate investments, or consolidating pots to take advantage of lower fees.’

The value of lost pots has grown significantly and the problem will continue to grow without intervention, according to the Pensions Policy Institute, the research charity which compiled the industry-wide figures cited above.

‘One such intervention is pensions dashboards, about which the survey found cautious optimism among providers,’ says the PPI. ‘Conducting this survey immediately before the launch of dashboards will allow us to evaluate their impact.’

For the pensions industry, there are administration costs involved in maintaining data on lost pots, and attempting to keep people updated on them using defunct contact details, when some might be very small.

And from the point of view of individual savers, who could have many such pots, it is well worth tracking them down and keeping tabs on them between now and retirement age.

The industry campaign group pushing people to find old pensions suggests you put aside time on 30 October, when clocks go back and you get an ‘extra’ hour in the day.

Below, you can find a guide to searching out your old funds, using the Government’s free Pension Tracing Service as a starting point.

Take care if you do an internet search for this official service, as there could also be links to firms which charge, try to flog you other services or may be fraudulent.

If you find some old pensions and register your current details with them, ensure that you keep them updated with your new address whenever you move in future.

‘The rising cost of living makes it all the more important that people track down the money they have worked so hard to earn and save,’ says Alan Morahan, chief commercial officer at Punter Southall Aspire.

‘The combination of more people switching jobs more often and auto-enrolment becoming more commonplace is likely to result in more lost pensions.

‘That’s why we are working with our industry partners to raise awareness of the issue and encourage consumers to take action.’

Ros Altmann, former Pensions Minister and campaigner, says: ‘Many Britons are unaware they may have thousands of pounds that could help them boost their retirement funds as they battle the current cost-of-living crisis.

‘There could be well over one million people in line for a windfall, who don’t yet know about their “buried treasure”.

Ros Altmann: Many Britons are unaware they may have thousands of pounds that could help them boost their retirement funds

‘If you have moved employers, moved house or your old firm has been taken over, your old workplace pensions may be languishing somewhere, so now is the time to try to find them.’

But Baroness Altmann cautions: ‘I do find it worrying that retirement funds are being used to cope with rising costs and more people are pulling out of saving for the future to cope with short-term needs.

‘This is of course understandable, but it could see a huge upsurge in retirement poverty and anyone who opts out or considers withdrawing their money needs to have a plan for rebuilding their pensions later on if possible.’

Royal London’s consumer finance specialist, Sarah Pennells, says: ‘During the cost of living crisis it’s more important than ever that you track down your lost pensions – it’s easy to do, and it’s free.

‘You don’t have to pay a penny to trace a lost pension – you can do it free of charge.’

Pennells says the Pension Tracing Service will only tell you the contact details of your pension’s administrator, not whether you have a pension or how much it is worth.

‘Even if you have pension paperwork from a previous employer, it doesn’t always mean that you have a pension entitlement.

‘For example, you may have had a refund of your contributions when you left that employer. Many older workplace pensions may have also needed you to be a member for a certain number of years, before you were entitled to a pension.’

She adds: ‘Watch out for scammers. Scammers are quick to “piggyback” off legitimate events, so may be more active around National Pension Tracing Day.’

Helen Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown, says: ‘Finding a lost pension could be the difference between struggling to make ends meet or being a bit more comfortable in retirement.

‘It might mean you can afford go part-time in the years before retirement or need to stay in work for longer, so its vitally important to keep your contact details for your pensions up to date.

‘Once you’ve located your lost pension, it might make sense to consolidate it with any other pensions you may have. This makes it easier to keep track from an administrative perspective and you have a clearer view of what your savings are -this could affect your retirement decision making.

‘Almost one-third of people we surveyed said they would like to do this.

‘However, before doing this, it is important to check whether there are any terms on old pensions that mean you might lose out on valuable benefits or cost you money if you decide to consolidate.

‘For instance, older policies might incur expensive exit fees if you try and move them, or they may have attractive terms like guaranteed annuity rates.

‘Checking for these things in advance can save you a lot of hassle and give you a clearer idea of what you have accumulated so far.’

This post first appeared on Dailymail.co.uk