Very few of us have a job for life these days, with many of us moving through numerous roles and businesses as our careers progress.<\/p>\n
That means you\u2019ll probably have several workplace pensions throughout your working life, and as time passes, it can be easy to lose track of them.<\/p>\n
You might have moved house since leaving a previous job, and your pension provider doesn\u2019t have your new address. Or perhaps the pension provider has rebranded and merged with another company, but you\u2019re not aware of the change.<\/p>\n
So if that\u2019s you, what do you do?<\/p>\n
Well, firstly, go through your files at home and see if you have any old paperwork relating to your pension schemes. Even if you\u2019re not getting any statements through the post, perhaps because you\u2019ve moved house in recent years, your old paperwork might contain some useful information, so you can contact the pension provider directly, or find out what\u2019s happened to the company in the intervening years.<\/p>\n
Another option is to get in touch with your previous employers. It may be that a company you worked for ran the pension scheme, in which case they could be able to help you find the details you\u2019re looking for.<\/p>\n
Alternatively, you can make use of various services that have been set up to help you track down old pensions.<\/p>\n
The Pensions Advisory Service can help you locate personal pensions if you can provide details such as your National Insurance number and when you worked for a particular company. Administered by the government, it\u2019s free to use, so it could be really useful if you\u2019re struggling to get the details you need.<\/p>\n
Finally, it may be the case that you\u2019ve not moved house but have simply ignored your statements when they drop through the letterbox each year. Don\u2019t disregard this mail; make sure it\u2019s properly filed with the rest of your important documents, so you can feel confident you\u2019re on top of everything from now on. Otherwise, you might find yourself back where you started in a few years\u2019 time.<\/p>\n
How many people have lost track of their pensions?<\/p>\n
If you\u2019ve lost track of previous pension schemes, you\u2019re far from alone. In fact, a recent study by Scottish Widows revealed that more than 3.6 million people in the UK have no idea how many pensions they have.<\/p>\n
This may explain why nearly three-quarters like the idea of creating a new system that automatically consolidates small pension pots as they move from one job to another.<\/p>\n
The research also highlighted some significant gaps in people\u2019s knowledge, with one in ten respondents saying they had no idea how to combine their pensions, while a similar proportion felt it would be \u201ctoo much hassle\u201d.<\/p>\n
We\u2019re here to tell you that it doesn\u2019t have to be really difficult, and you can always speak to a professional, regulated financial advisor about consolidating old pensions and planning your finances for the future.<\/p>\n
If you have any questions about your retirement planning, please don\u2019t hesitate to get in touch with us, and we\u2019ll be happy to speak with you.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Very few of us have a job for life these days, with many of us moving through numerous roles and businesses as our careers progress. That means you\u2019ll probably have several workplace pensions throughout your working life, and as time passes, it can be easy to lose track of them. You might have moved house since leaving a previous job, and your pension provider doesn\u2019t have your new address.…<\/p>\n