Are you aware of where all your pensions are?

Indeed, it is now commonplace for people to have worked for six or more companies throughout their careers – and with every new job comes a new workplace pension scheme. These can be hard to keep track of when changing jobs, moving house, and navigating the challenges of daily life – pensions are often cast aside or forgotten about until nearer retirement. It is currently predicted that there is approximately £31 billion worth of pensions sat unclaimed because people have lost track of them. It is essential that you do not fall into this growing, and rather concerning statistic.

Remember, misplaced pensions will have a significant impact on your overall retirement savings.

There is, however, some general housekeeping that you can do to avoid losing track of your pensions. This is not an exhaustive list, but some noteworthy takeaways nonetheless:

• Update the pension provider with your new address when moving home.

• Another important safeguard is to ensure the provider has a valid email address for you, so you can still obtain information digitally.

• If you think that you have misplaced or forgotten about a particular pension – you can try and locate it via the government’s Pension Tracing Service. They will need the name of the employer or pension provider, and they should be able to furnish you with the necessary contact details to try and track it down.

Consolidating your pensions

There are many types of pensions, each offering different rules, features, and benefits. The investment choice, options at retirement and charges between pension providers can vary drastically, as can the experience in terms of ongoing servicing.

If you are someone who has accumulated many pensions that are scattered around separate pension providers, it might be time to consider consolidating these with a provider that meets your retirement objectives. Moreover, it would simplify the administration, making it easier to manage and control, and crucially, could save you money in fees/charges.

Having a single view of your pension will also give you a better understanding of exactly how much you have in retirement savings, and this could have a real impact on your decision making. For example, you might have a very different attitude towards a pension valued at £100,000, to five pensions each valued at £20,000. The investment risk between five pensions could vary significantly. 

Valuable benefits

Of course, there are other factors that would come into play to determine the suitability of consolidating pensions. Such as those that incur exit fees on transfer, or ones that provide valuable benefits at retirement, like guaranteed annuity rates, or the ability to take an enhanced tax-free cash amount. Benefits such as these would be given up on transfer, if not considered or reviewed carefully by an expert at Lovewell Blake Financial Planning Limited, before any decision is made

Pensions can be complex – so whether you have a question about consolidating multiple pensions, starting a new pension, or accessing the benefits of an existing arrangement, one of our financial advisers at Lovewell Blake Financial Planning Limited can help you with your pension cleanse.