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From a young age we are told how important it is to save, and rightly so. Most of us will at least try to put something aside each month, it could be an ISA, a savings account, maybe even an investment app. These things allow us to watch our balances grow, and so we stay on top of them. We check them. We know what’s there.
However, when it comes to our pensions - often the biggest pot of money we’ll ever have - it’s a completely different story. We pay into it quietly, month after month, but rarely look, or even know where it is. Pensions don’t feel as visible or as engaging as other savings, so over time, we can lose track. If you couple this with a few job changes, a change of address, and even a lost email password, you end up with the problem we identify in this article – up to £50 Billion sitting in lost pensions in the UK.
It’s an enormous number. And it’s growing.
So, how do pensions even get “lost”?
Pensions go missing for several reasons, including:
• You change jobs. Each new employer usually opens a new pension scheme for you.
• You move house. But your pension provider still has your old address.
• You forget the details. Out of sight, out of mind.
Most of these are unavoidable for the majority of people nowadays, myself included given my career before Compound. This is why reports now state there are over 3 million lost pension pots in the UK, with an average value of over £10,000. (https://www.abi.org.uk/globalassets/files/publications/public/lts/2024/20241024-ppi-bn138-lost-pensions-2024-final.pdf)
It’s a lot of cash, unknown, and potentially unclaimed.
Why it’s getting worse
When automatic enrolment came in back in 2012, it required companies to automatically enroll its eligible employees into a workplace pension scheme. This was a great idea; it got millions of people saving instantly, and gave employers the ability to invest in their employees’ futures, something of a win-win! However, it also created a new problem: lots of small pension pots spread across lots of pension providers. This may not have been an issue in the past as people would typically stay in their jobs for much longer periods, but with the average person changing jobs much more frequently nowadays, multiple pots are something of an inevitability. If you add in legacy systems, lots of admin, and paper letters still sent to addresses you lived in 6 years ago - you’ve got the perfect recipe for pensions going missing.
It's an unfortunate reality the UK is facing, and one I’ve been tracking over the last few years. In fact, in the time since I quit my job to tackle this issue back in 2022, I’ve seen reports go form £31 Billion up to £50 Billion, in other words, the problem is Compounding! (https://www.abi.org.uk/news/news-articles/2024/10/brits-missing-31.1bn-in-unclaimed-pension-pots/, https://www.actuarialpost.co.uk/article/over-gbp50bn-may-be-lost-as-number-of-pensions-set-to-surge-23147.htm)
Why it matters
If you can’t see those pensions, you can’t really manage them. You might be missing the chance to make sure your money’s invested in a fund that suits you, or that it’s growing in line with your goals. You also don’t know how much you’ve got across all your pots, making it almost impossible to plan for the future with any real confidence. It’s a bit like planning your weekly shop without checking what’s already in the fridge, you either buy too much or end up missing something important
And it’s something that really matters early on. The earlier you understand what you’ve already got, the earlier you can make small, informed adjustments, and those small actions can make a big difference over time. You can’t add more years to the clock, but you can make the years you already have work harder for you. That’s where awareness turns into impact, by taking full advantage of Compounding growth.
So, what you can do today?
Finding old pensions doesn’t need to be complicated.
Here’s where to start:
1. Think back to old jobs. Did you have a workplace pension? Most people did, even if it was small.
2. Use the official Pension Tracing Service on MoneyHelper.gov.uk.
3. Keep one list. Write down which pensions you have and who they’re with. Even a quick note in your phone helps.
Or, if you’d rather have some help, you can join the Compound waitlist and use our upcoming Find and Combine service in the Compound App - designed to make it easier to locate your old pensions and see everything in one place.
A bit of time now can make a huge difference later. You might rediscover a few thousand pounds you didn’t even know was yours.
Risk warning: Capital at risk. The value of investments can go down as well as up. You may get back less than you invest. This article is for information only and does not constitute financial advice. Compound is an execution-only service and an appointed representative of RiskSave Technologies Ltd, which is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.
