How to help employees find lost pensions and bring them together

From the job hoppers to the long haulers, anyone can misplace their old pension pots throughout life’s changes. Here’s how to help employees track down and bring old pensions together into one place.

By 2024, UK savers had lost track of more than three million pension pots. That’s the equivalent of over £31 billion in lost pension savings, according to research by the Pensions Policy Institute .

The same report shows the number of missing pots more than doubled since 2018. That’s a lot of lost pension savings, which could make a big difference to many people’s future retirement plans.

It’s likely at least some of your employees’ retirement savings fall into the ‘missing pensions’ category. But here’s the good news: as an employer, you can make a difference to your employees’ financial futures by helping them find their lost pensions.

But first, let’s look at the reasons why pension pots get lost.

Why are there so many lost pension pots?

Changing jobs is one of the main reasons people lose track of their old pensions. That’s because whenever someone starts a new job, their employer may sign them up to a new workplace pension scheme. Given that the average person will have nine jobs throughout their lifetime, it’s easy to see how old pots can be forgotten.

And if people move house and forget to tell their pension provider their new address then you can see how they can lose track of that pension pot.

How to help employees find their lost pensions

Many employees may be unsure of where or how to find their lost pensions, so it’s a good idea to raise awareness of what they can do.

First, it’s worth sending out regular communications to remind employees to keep their pension details up to date. This could prevent pensions getting left behind in the first place if employees move house or their circumstances change.

Next, let employees know how they can locate their lost pensions. The government’s Pensions Tracing Service is a good place to start. If you have a Standard Life workplace scheme, employees can easily access this from the Standard Life mobile app. To start searching, all they need to do is log in and enter the name of their employer or pension provider.

So once your employees have found their pension pot, what’s next?

Whilst it might be tempting to file the information away into the drawer of forgotten paperwork, there is an option which might make it easier for them to stay in control of their savings: bringing their pensions together into one place.

What are the potential benefits of combining pensions?

Combining pensions, pension transfers and consolidation all refer to bringing different pensions together into the same pot.

That means they’ll have everything in one place, making it easier for them to see how much they’ve got – and giving them more clarity over their future.

Plus, they won’t need to manage multiple pensions anymore. This could save them a lot of time and admin, not to mention save them from the worry of forgetting old pension pots.

Of course, it’s important that your employees think about if transferring is right for them. Charges can vary from provider to provider, and they’ll need to check they’re not giving up any valuable benefits or guarantees if they transfer, as they may want to keep these. Also, the value of investments can go down as well as up, and employees may get back less than was paid in.

Help your employees decide what’s right for them

Whoever makes up your workforce, everyone wants to look forward to a good retirement. Whether they’re planners or prefer to live for today, it’s important employees spend a bit of time comparing their options. To help, you could signpost them to information that allows them to weigh up the pros and cons, such as MoneyHelper.

If you have a Standard Life workplace pension scheme, our pension transfer hub has a range of support materials that can help your employees decide if they should combine.

More ways to encourage pension engagement

We’ve created a range of campaign materials that make it easier for you to help each and every employee engage with their pension. Find everything you need by visiting our Pension Engagement Season hub.

Whilst helping employees locate their lost pensions is an important step, it’s only one part of the picture. In our next article, we’ll explore why talking about money matters – and how you can help kick-start those conversations.