Pension savers warned of 'national crisis' as 'eye-watering' £50billion at risk of being lost in UK

The number of lost pensions are set to rise by 130 per cent by 2050 as more people change jobs, and are automatically enrolled into their new workplace pensions.

New analysis conducted by the Centre for Economics and Business Research, on behalf of PensionBee, found that younger workers (age 18) are set to, on average, have five pension pots by the age of 68.

However, some people have been enrolled in more than 20 separate pensions over their working life.

The total number of UK pension pots is expected to rise 130 per cent from 106 million (at present) to 243 million by 2050.

The report found that thousands of younger workers (under 35) have accrued a higher average number of pensions (2.4) than mid-career workers (35 to 54 years old; 2.1) and older workers (+55 years old; 1.7) despite a shorter career history.

Becky O’Connor, Director of Public Affairs at PensionBee said: “The amount of money lost track of in old pensions is already eye-watering, with more than £50billion already at risk of being left behind, but is set to reach national crisis levels over the coming years, as the number of pots accumulated through work rises and with it, the number of lost pensions.

“This research suggests the problem of lost pots is growing more urgent every year. The Government is working on a number of solutions to help solve it, including pension dashboards and new ‘pot for life’ proposals.

“For anyone who loses track of pensions, the result can, unfortunately, be a poorer retirement.

"It’s important to keep track of old paperwork, employer and pension provider names and policy numbers and if you would prefer to keep pensions together, consider consolidating them in one place.”

Tracking down a personal or workplace pension

Most pension schemes must send customers a statement each year.

These statements include an estimate of the retirement income that one’s pension pot might give them when they retire.

First, it is suggested that if someone thinks they have lost a pension, they should check to see if they have any old paperwork which might have the name of their employer or pension scheme or details of the scheme's administrator or provider.

If people are no longer getting these statements – perhaps because they’ve changed their address –and need to track down the pension, they can contact:

• the pension provider
• their former employer (if it was a workplace pension), or
• the Pension Tracing Service.

Alternatively, people can contact their pension providers or workplace pension providers for more information.

LATEST DEVELOPMENTS:

• State pension future in doubt after tax cuts: ‘Where will money come from?’
• Parents could miss out on state pension and over £3,000 Child Benefit boost
• State pension payment to hit £220 a week but future increases up for ‘debate’

If people contact their pension provider, they should provide as many of the following details as possible:

• their plan number.
• their date of birth.
• their National Insurance number.
• the date their pension was set up.