How to Track Down Old Workplace Pensions You’ve Forgotten About
It’s common to move jobs several times throughout your career, especially at the start. This could be to move upwards, for better company benefits and culture, or for a new challenge. Gone are the days of previous generations where people worked for a company for life.
In the past 12 years I’ve been in four different jobs, and with each new job potentially comes a new workplace pension. And it’s surprisingly easy to lose track.
When I moved into my last job I consolidated a bunch of small pensions (as it was worthwhile) so I have less to keep track of. But I still have more than one.
The good news? Finding old pensions isn’t as complicated as it sounds.
Why it’s worth tracking them down
Every old pension pot is part of your future retirement income. Even small contributions made years ago can add up over time, especially when invested. Leaving them unclaimed means you could be missing out on thousands of pounds.
Step 1: Gather your old job details
Start by listing every job you’ve had, especially those after 2012 when automatic enrolment began. Include employer names, employment dates, and any paperwork you still have. Old payslips or P60s may also mention a pension provider.
Step 2: Use the Government’s Pension Tracing Service
The UK Government’s Pension Tracing Service is a free online tool that helps you find contact details for workplace or personal pension schemes. You’ll need your previous employer’s name and any identifying details.
Step 3: Contact the pension provider
Once you’ve found the provider, contact them with as much information as possible — your full name, date of birth, address history, and National Insurance number.
They can confirm whether you have a pension with them and what it’s worth.
Step 4: Check for lost personal pensions
If you ever set up a private pension alongside a workplace one, don’t forget to track those down too. Check your emails or bank statements for direct debits to pension companies.
Step 5: Consider consolidating your pensions
Once you’ve found them all, it might make sense to combine them into one pot. Consolidation can make it easier to manage your savings and reduce fees — but check first for exit charges or loss of benefits before transferring. Sometimes it’s worthwhile consolidating, other times it’s better to leave pensions where they are.
If you’re unsure here’s more info on whether you should consolidate your pensions.
Tracking down old pensions
Tracking down old pensions may sound tedious, but it’s one of the smartest financial moves you can make. Those forgotten pots could make a real difference to your pot of money and retirement comfort.
Take an hour, make that list, and start reclaiming what’s rightfully yours.
12 responses to “How to Track Down Old Workplace Pensions You’ve Forgotten About”
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Rhian Westbury
Travels and Destinations
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I found this really helpful, especially the reminder about using the Pension Tracing Service and checking old paperwork. It’s so easy to forget about small workplace pensions from years ago. Corinne x
Perfect timing, my mom is asking about this and I don’t know how to answer her. But reading this has an idea.
Such a useful post! I think many people forget about old workplace pensions, so these tips are really helpful for tracking them down and staying financially organized.
I have one currently with my employer, in my first job I didn’t take up the offer as I was young and thought I knew best. Definitely worth checking out though!
It must be great to have a workplace pension. With the roles I had in the past I never had one that I recall. Need to do a quick search myself!
Reading your article reminded me of a small pension I had in my previous job! I will email them about it now. As you said, every penny counts towards your retirement. Thank you so much for the amazing information.
This is so handy! I’ve really only had two jobs before going self employed, but I could really do with looking back into my old pension schemes. If i could combine them together that’d make things so much easier. Thank you for the kick up the bum! Definitely needed this. Adulting is so boring. Haha
Claire
http://www.clairemac.co.uk
Finding old paperwork is always a chore. I usually put off checking my savings because the process feels long. These steps make tracking down those lost funds far less intimidating for someone like me.
This is very helpful. My bestfriend is based in the UK and I am not sure if she’s aware of this but I will share this with her. It is nice that there is free online tool to make tracking down easier.
Honestly this is really helpful and something I wouldn’t have a clue as to where to start looking if I needed to do this
If someone has forgotten about or lost their work pension, it’s so worth following this advise! Thank you for sharing it.
The most important piece of advice for my uncle was contacting his pension provider. It cleared all the doubts and helped tracking down a good chunk of money.