Don’t miss out on valuable retirement income

If you’ve had several jobs throughout your working life, you may have a few workplace pensions in your name.

So as the years pass, it can be easy not only to forget about them completely, but also how much money they contain.

But this means that you could end up missing out on thousands of pounds in later life.

That’s why Pension Attention, a new campaign led by Pensions UK and the ABI, is urging people to get to grips with their retirement planning.

“Most working people in the UK have at least one pension, many don’t know much about them, and some have even lost track of them completely,” said spokesperson Helen Mitchell.

“We’re asking all UK adults to check where their pensions are, what they have saved, and how much they might need for retirement.” 

But according to research by Pension Attention, less than one in three (29%) people have organised their finances for later life.

How do I track down old pensions?

You can find old savings pots with the government’s free Pension Tracing Service.

All you have to do is enter the names and addresses of your previous employers. 

You’ll then be given the contact details of the pension provider, so you can get in touch with them and find out if you have money there.

Once confirmed, you can find out:

• how much the pension pot is worth
• how it's invested
• options for managing your pension pot
• if you can move it to another provider

Should I consolidate old pensions?

Once you’ve found your old pensions, you might be asking yourself if it’s worth combining them into one pot, such as your private pension.

After all, having fewer pensions to look at could give you clearer oversight of your retirement income and make it easier to plan for the future.

But it’s worth remembering that some pensions come with valuable benefits or guarantees.

So you could lose these if you transfer them elsewhere.

That means that if you’re thinking of making any changes, check the terms of each pension.

Even if you don’t make any changes now, just knowing where your pensions are and what they’re worth could help you feel more in control of your retirement planning.