Martin Lewis fan recovers £62,000 pension after following his tips - 'it's worth spending 10 minutes checking'

There could be as much as £82billion in total in lost bank and building society accounts, Premium Bonds, pensions, investments and insurance policies.

Depending on the type of product their assets are in – current accounts, savings, pensions, or various investments – a selection of organisations can help people to search for unclaimed accounts, often quickly and for free online.

The biggest payouts are usually from old private or company pensions & investments. For pensions, contacting ex-employers and digging out old paperwork is the "best first step," the MSE team explained.

In the latest MoneySavingExpert's Money Tips Email, MoneySaver Deborah explained how she was able to trace down a lost £62,000.

In her email, she wrote: "I've been having a major sort-out recently and among my husband's paperwork, I found information about a very old pension from 1998 and four addresses ago... before we were even married.

"He couldn't remember having it, or if he'd cashed it in at some point. We used your advice about tracing a lost pension, and today a letter arrived confirming he has a pension pot of £61,700 that he didn't know he had! So a big thank you!

"That will make a big difference to our retirement!"

MoneySaver Richard also followed Martin's tips after hearing about others who'd successfully found lost pensions.

After a few months, he managed to locate his old pension provider and a few calls later he'd found an old work pension which he'd stopped paying into during the 1990s.

Richard was extremely thankful after reclaiming £138,000 which he can now put in his pension, towards his retirement.

He said: "I just wanted to thank Martin and the team for advice in locating lost pensions. I followed the advice and after a few months managed to locate my old pension provider, who were now Aviva.

"After a few calls with them they found my old pension which I had stopped paying into during the 1990s.

"When I called to check the current valuation, I still remember the lady at Aviva saying 'oh my God, do you know how much your pension is worth?' She was shocked that it had reached a value of £137,749.

"I always watch and read what Martin says and without his advice on locating lost pensions, I would never have started looking for it."

The Government set up the Dormant Assets Scheme in 2011 to reunite people with lost cash that's been left untouched for 15 years or more.

Under the scheme, if an asset's deemed to be dormant and can't be reunited with its owner, it can be transferred to the Reclaim Fund and used to fund environmental and community projects around the UK.

Participation in the scheme is voluntary, so not all financial organisations are part of it – but all major high street banks and building societies have signed up.

The first priority for any company taking part in the scheme is to try to reunite customers with their lost assets.

The money can only be transferred to the Reclaim Fund if it isn't possible to reunite lost assets with their owner.