Have you lost track of your retirement savings?

According to recent data from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), there is £26.6 billion lying in unclaimed, inactive, or lost pension pots. Since 2018, this value has increased by 37.7%, or over £7 billion, and more than 2.8 million pension pots are now regarded as lost. The entire amount of lost pots now equals one-fourth of the annual cost of the state pension. [1]

Although these statistics are pretty shocking, they may not come as a total surprise.  Our lives have changed and for the majority, the days of working for one employer and then retiring is very much a thing of the past and it is therefore not unusual for people to have more than one pension pot.

It is thought that multiple job changes coupled with multiple house moves has contributed to these statistics, with people simply losing track of pensions paperwork or forgetting to update their pension provider with their new contact details.

The 30th October 2022 marks the UKs second National Pension Tracing Day[2].  The day coincides with the clocks going back and encourages people to utilise the extra hour to search for pensions they might not know exist.

Whilst your people will be aware of their current workplace pension with you, they may have forgotten about their previous workplace or personal pensions. By offering a workplace pension and working with your employees to help them understand the importance of saving and planning for their future and retirement, you are already demonstrating that you care.

Highlighting the importance of tracing possible lost pensions to your employees is really important. Alongside your pension offering, it may help to provide your people with a more detailed picture of what their retirement might look like and help them to plan accordingly.

Pension tracing isn’t too difficult either, so it’s worth sharing these tips with your people:

• Look back through any old paperwork or bank statements, this may help identify payments made to a particular provider.
• Use the Government’s pension tracing service: https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details. The online service guides users through a series of questions that should help identify any lost pensions.  It is also possible to contact the service by telephone on 0800 731 0193.

It is also worth highlighting to your employees that if they do discover a single, or multiple lost pensions, they should seek advice to understand their options, particularly around pensions consolidation.

Perhaps you work with a benefits consultant to offer workplace pensions and retirement advice and could point your people in this direction. Alternatively, you could direct your people towards Pension Wise, a service from Money Helper backed by the government who may be able to offer an initial guidance meeting for free.

Secondsight provides award winning pension support and financial education, if you would like to find out more about how we could support you and your employees, please get in touch.

 

Secondsight is a trading name of Foster Denovo Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

A pension is a long-term investment not normally accessible until 55 (57 from April 2028). The value of your investment (and any income from them) can go down as well as up which would have an impact on the level of pension benefits available.

Your pension income could also be affected by the interest rates at the time you take your benefits. The tax implications of pension withdrawals will be based on your individual circumstances. Levels, bases of and reliefs from taxation may change in subsequent Finance Acts.

Information correct as of 28/10/22

[1] https://corporate-adviser.com/nearly-27bn-sitting-in-lost-pension-pots/

[2] National Pension Tracing Day was founded by Punter Southall Aspire, with backing from Scottish Widows, Aegon, Legal & General and Standard Life.