Expert financial advice By Andy Oliver, CEO of Private Client Consultancy
Tracing your lost Pensions
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the dates of which you were employed and your contacting HMRC. If you do have a SERPS ow are pensions lost? national insurance number. Thus, it would be pension, you will need to then contact the It is estimated that there is currently around £19.4 billion lost beneficial for you to start drafting up a timeline provider in order to access the funds. in pension pots. This averages of your previous work experiences. The more Evidently, there is a lot of work that goes into to around £13,000 per missing information the better, so whatever you can tracing lost pensions. It can be difficult to pension. In fact, nearly 1 in 5 people in the UK savage from documents, letters, and payslips ensure that you are asking the right questions you have saved should be mentioned to your and getting the correct information. Not having will lose track of at least one pension pot. proper guidance makes for a more complicated People work for an average of 11 employers adviser. Organising your information and contacting process. Consulting with a qualified adviser is throughout their lifetimes. Because of this, it is previous employers is the beneficial in many ways, namely in that it takes often difficult to trace the first step, however it is the pressure off of you to contact all of these pensions they acquired "Losing track not the last. At this point, different authorities. When the ability to fully from previous jobs. This you will not yet know how enjoy your retirement rests so heavily in the is especially true if those of old pensions much the pension is worth, hands of complex bureaucratic systems, it is previous jobs were held how it has performed over important to speak with a professional so you years prior to the position is a common the years, or what options can be confident that you have the safety of they currently hold. phenomenon, as it you will have at age 55. their expertise to fall back on. Auto-enrolment for pension Only the pension provider Next steps schemes has made the is very easy to do. has this information, and Lastly, tracking down your pensions is only the enrolment process much you will need to contact the beginning. The next step is assessing whether easier in many respects. While tracing them company to obtain it. you are getting a good deal out of your pension However, this system has may be a hassle, it is If you instead choose to scheme. There are so many outdated schemes also complicated some find a lost pension with out there, so it could greatly benefit you to areas. Employees who still beneficial to do your national insurance consider other options for your investments. are eligible can choose to number, then you can also You may also wish to combine your pensions automatically enrol into so. You may have do this by sending it to a into one pot, as this makes them easier to both the company’s pension past employer to obtain keep track of and manage. scheme, meaning that a significant sum the details of the pension If you are interested in a personalized pension many people often end up awaiting you". provider. Alternatively, plan that will be tailored your specific needs, with multiple pension pots. you can contact HMRC then a more flexible and modern option may Then, when they leave that to learn whether your SERPS contract ended. be a better fit for you. Our advisers will not only job for a new one and continue to do this for some years, they are often left wondering what This method still requires you to provide help you track down these lost pensions, but personal details, but it is your national insurance they will also help you make the best decisions pensions they have, where they are, and how number that grants entities access to your old with your pensions once they have been found. they can find them. The people who are most at risk of losing a contributions. If you do not pension are those who have worked for many know this number, it will be tracking down your pensions is different companies or have not updated included on your payslips. their pension provider after moving house. In 1978, SERPS was created only the beginning. The next step is Additionally, people who opted out of the State by the government to add Earnings-Related Pension Scheme (SERPS) to the State Pension. It was assessing whether you are getting in either the 1980s or ‘90s likely have lost replaced in 2002 by the State a good deal out of your pension Second Pension. During the pensions. Losing track of old pensions is a common ‘80s and ‘90s, millions of scheme. There are so many outdated phenomenon, as it is very easy to do. While people opted out of SERPS in pursuit of placing their tracing them may be a hassle, it is still schemes out there, so it could greatly beneficial to do so. You may have a significant contributions into a personal benefit you to consider other options sum awaiting you. Thankfully, Private Client pension instead. Their hope Consultancy can help you recover any old was that they would end for your investments. up with a higher income pensions you may have. for retirement if they went How can pensions be recovered? First, you will need to find out if you have with a personal pension scheme rather than It is possible for your unclaimed pensions to pensions from any past jobs. If you think that SERPS. If you were employed by a private be lost indefinitely. Being proactive now could save you from not having the retirement you are you may, you should contact your previous company between the years 1987 and 2012, it employer. This is sometimes difficult to do if you would be worth checking if there is a missing entitled to. no longer have their contact information, so you SERPS pension that you can claim. So many To schedule a consultation with one of our may get in touch with our advisers to review underestimate the difference a missing pension advisers, email us at info@pccwealth.com. could make to their retirement. your options. Next, your previous employer will need to know Checking if you have a SERPS pension requires
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