Just seven and-a-half minutes of admin time ‘may lead to pension windfall’

It could take just over seven minutes on average to kick off the process of tracking down a lost pension pot which may be worth thousands of pounds, a study has suggested.

The research, carried out for the Pension Attention campaign, was released ahead of national pension tracing day on Sunday October 26.

The timed experiment, which involved 400 people, found it took seven minutes and 29 seconds on average to use the Government’s pension tracing tool to track down an old pension.

This is around the same length of time it could take to listen to a couple of songs or make and sit down with a cup of tea.

Lost pensions were defined as those that had been forgotten about or pensions that people were aware of but did not know how to locate, making it difficult to claim at retirement.

The Government’s “find pension contact details” online service – gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details – was used and only participants whose employer was listed on the Government website were invited to continue the experiment.

Recruits timed how long it took them to access the Government website, find their provider’s contact details and initiate contact by either phone or letter.

Lost pensions can be worth an average of £9,500 each, according to those behind the campaign.

Mark Smith, spokesman for the Pension Attention campaign, said: “With just a few minutes, you can give your savings a real boost by visiting pensionattention.co.uk and use the pension tracing tool to reconnect with forgotten pots and follow our tips to better understand your pension.

“You might also find it helpful to think back to past jobs, check through old paperwork and fill in any gaps in your pension history. Don’t forget to update your provider with your current details so you stay connected to your savings for the future.”

The Pension Attention campaign is co-ordinated by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) and Pensions UK, and funded by firms in the pensions industry.

Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis, Hargreaves Lansdown, said: “The lost pension problem continues to loom large, with a recent FOI (freedom of information request) showing the Government’s pension tracing service fielded around 274,000 calls in just under five years.

“Providing contact details for employers and providers will have helped thousands of people reunite with pensions they lost track of years ago. It’s a quick call that can leave you thousands of pounds better-off in retirement.

“However, data suggests this is just a drop in the ocean, with the Pensions Policy Institute estimating there could be as many as 3.3 million lost pensions out there. This is all money that can make a significant improvement to people’s lifestyles in retirement and could be the difference between struggling to make ends meet and being able to enjoy your golden years.”

Ms Morrissey said the pensions dashboard, which will help people see all their pension pots in one place, will make it easier to track down pensions.

For those looking to track down a lost pension, she suggested: “Make a list of everywhere you have worked and check to see if you have pension paperwork for them.

“If you don’t, and you suspect you had a pension with them, then give the pension tracing helpline a call. You will need either the name of the company you worked for or the pension provider. The service won’t be able to tell you if you have a pension with them but they can give you contact details so you can track it down.

“Once you’ve tracked down your pensions, you may wish to consolidate them into one place. This can save you time, admin and even cost. It’s important to compare your old provider with what your new one can offer you.

“What are the fees like? What kind of investment choice is on offer and what support is available to you? Having one overarching view of what you have can transform your retirement planning as you will view one larger pension in a different way to several small ones which you may be tempted to cash in and spend.

“However, before you take the plunge, it’s really important to check that you won’t be incurring expensive exit fees by transferring out. Another thing to be careful of is the potential to miss out on important benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates, which could be lost if the pension is transferred.”

Charlene Young, senior pensions and savings expert at AJ Bell, said: “Even if you’ve got a good handle on your pension savings, here are three good reasons to combine your pensions.

“First up is the chance to lower your charges. Different pension companies charge varying fees for managing and investing your pensions and an older style lost pension might have high annual charges.

“If you move to a plan that offers better value for the features you need, you’ll end up paying less and giving your pot a boost over time alongside the extra money you’ve found.

“Secondly, fewer pots and online log-ins help you keep track of your total pension savings and estimate what that could give you in retirement.

“Better information helps you make better decisions, like how much to increase your contributions, if you want to aim for a higher standard of living in retirement.

“Your lost pension might have been invested in a standard ‘default investment fund’, which is designed to be a one-size-fits-all solution.

“Some ‘lifestyle’ funds even change the asset mix of your investments as you approach certain age bands which might not match your own retirement goals.

“Taking control of your own pension investments can help you match your individual goals.

“This is particularly important as you approach retirement and are thinking about how and when you’ll access your pension money.”