How To Trace Your Lost Pension Funds

If you would like to properly plan for retirement, it is important that you determine the amount of income you will get from your personal pension plan, workplace pensions, and State Pension.

Getting this information is simple and straightforward, even for pensions you probably lost track of many years ago. If you are a member of a pension scheme, you will be sent a statement every year. The statements provide information such as an estimate of retirement income the pot is likely to generate during retirement. However, if you are no longer receiving statements for one reason or another, then you need to take the necessary steps to find your pension. Below are useful tips to guide you on how to find your lost pension funds.

Pension tracing involves tracing money that belongs to you legally as this enables you to make the most out of your money. If you are not privy to what you have out there, then there is absolutely no way you can tell how the funds you have saved up somewhere are working to earn you even more money. For this reason, you need to make every effort to find your lost pensions.

For each lost pension, contact the pension provider. You could choose whichever method you prefer to contact your pension provider, but make sure you provide as much information as possible.

Below are some of the details you need to include:

i. Plan Number
ii. National Insurance number
iii. Date of Birth
iv. Date of commencement of the pension

Below are some vital questions you need to ask to get a complete overview of the pension pot:

i. The amount contributed
ii. Current value of your pension pot.
iii. The amount of income your pension could probably pay out on your chosen date of retirement.
iv. The charges you are paying for the management of your pension
v. How the pension is being invested as well as the options available for making the changes.
vi. Death benefits – The amount of money that will be paid in case you died.
vii. Have you appointed any nominated beneficiaries to collect the death benefits?
viii. Are there any charges in case you choose to transfer your pension pot from your current provider to another one?

In case you are trying to find your lost workplace pension, then contact the employer first. If your former employer provided details or access to a stakeholder or personal scheme, contact the provider of the pension if you have the details. However, if you do not have this information, ask your employer to provide you with the information.

Below are some details you may need to provide your employer:

i. National Insurance number.
ii. Date of commencement of employment at your old workplace.
iii. Date you actually stopped working for your old employer.
iv. The scheme’s commencement date.

If you are not making any progress while attempting to find your lost pension using the guide provided above, it is probably because you cannot locate the right contact information of your old employer. Another reason could be that you do not know the pension provider of your old pension. In such a case, it is a wise decision to use the Pension Tracing Service. This service searches through a database comprising of more than 250,000 personal and workplace pension schemes. Through this service, you can easily find all the information you need regarding your lost pensions at absolutely no cost.

It is advisable that you take full advantage of every available opportunity to trace your lost pensions using the Pension Tracing Service. If you choose to leave your pension contributions where they are, it would be quite difficult for you make the appropriate plans to secure your future, especially if you do not know the resources you currently have. At least, make it a point of finding out the amount of money you have in all the combined pension pots. With this information, you can seek advice from a financial advisor who will help you determine how to get the most from your combined assets.

Hopefully, this guide detailing how to find your lost pension funds has made it easier for you to find your lost pensions. If you are still finding challenges tracing your lost pensions, consult financial experts to assist you. Financial advisors can also offer guidance on how best to manage your pensions once you have found them while incorporating additional pensions and other investment funds you may have.