Retirement savers may be able to boost pension pots by over £13,000. The average lost pension pot is worth £9,470, with this figure rising to £13,620 significantly for those aged 55 to 75, according to reports from experts this week.
It means those born after 1949 could be handed a £13,600 boost. Mike Ambery, retirement savings director at Standard Life, warns the problem is set to worsen after Christmas and said: “That £31bn figure is astounding. Do I think it will increase? Yes, it will.”
Chris Blackwood, spokesperson for the Pension Attention campaign said: “If you can do one thing today, visit pensionattention.co.uk and use the pension tracing tools to find any lost pension pots. It only takes a few clicks, and you could substantially add to your pot.”
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And Mr Ambery warns that even when lost pots are reclaimed, savers may have missed out on significant returns due to poor investment strategies. He said: “It would be reasonable to think [the lost returns] would be thousands, if not tens of thousands of pounds for an average earner.”
You can use the government service to find contact details to search for a lost pension. You can find contact details for your own workplace or personal pension scheme and someone else’s scheme if you have their permission. This service will not tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is.
You need the name of an employer or a pension provider to use this service. You can also request contact details from the Pension Tracing Service by phone or by post. They cannot tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is.
A Government spokesman said: “Our Pension Schemes Bill will help over 15m, including by bringing savers’ pension pots together in one place could boost pension pots by £11,000.”