Once upon a time, a job could mean a role for life. Nowadays, to ‘job-hop’ or move jobs more often, is commonplace.
Whether changing jobs is through choice (as better opportunities present themselves), or the change is through redundancy; spending your whole career in one place is now considered unusual.
Research suggests an average worker will have around 11 jobs in their lifetime.
As people move jobs, they can leave behind pension funds and often even forget about them altogether. With 10 million auto-enrolled in workplace pensions, the issue is getting more apparent.
In fact, the Association of British Insurers (ABI) estimates that more than 1.6 million pension pots worth £19.4bn are “lost” – the equivalent of £13,000 per plan.
New research from FinTech savings and investment app Moneybox shows that a quarter of workers aged between 25 and 40 already have two pots with a previous employer!
With the introduction (and enforcement) of Workplace Pensions by the Government, workers naturally build up new pension funds at each job.
The auto-enrolment scheme, launched in 2012, legally obliges employers to give staff aged 22 and over, who earn more than £10,000 a year, a workplace pension.
The thing is with pensions, by the time they become of real importance (retirement), many people have often forgotten about them, wishing they kept closer tabs.
“Many are building up numerous pensions while being disengaged with details such as how much they’re worth and where the money is invested,” says Jamie Jenkins, head of global savings policy at Standard Life, Aberdeen.
Did you know: Every pension provider is obliged to send scheme members an annual statement, so go through yours to see what is stuffed away.
If you have recently moved to a new house or you will be moving to a new house, you must write to all schemes you hold and advise them of your new contact details. You can also get help from the government-backed Pension Tracing Service or by calling 0800 731 0193.
Easy Ways to Help Keep Track of Your Pensions & Investments…
Streamline: Keeping on top of your pensions and investments can be a lot easier if they are a few, or just one place. Having different schemes all over the places increases your risk of forgetting. Look through what you have and consider if you can consolidate them with a single service, without losing any value or benefits.
Record: This is where we can help. One of the (many) reasons for us creating My Last Request, was speaking with people who had no idea of their loved one’s pensions or investments. Think how many people lose out on money they or their loved one (if after death) has earned; yes earned! When we lose someone, grief is an overwhelming emotion and if by recording key-investment or pension scheme details somewhere safe (and updating them as and when) can help by not adding additional stress, we should all do it. Simply detailing whom you have what scheme with, means you keep track, and in the event of your passing, family members can locate these easily.
Review: Go through your finances at least once a year, or if/when your needs may change. A My Last Request subscription enables you to make as many changes or updates as you like, free of charge. Only you, plus up to two nominated people (viewing access only), will have access to your details, which are safely stored on line and accessible 24/7
How to Find Lost Pensions
If you are trying to find out about workplace pensions, you’ll need the name of the employer or the scheme, and the dates you worked for them. Try searching online for an address and/or contact details. Once you have a phone number or address, get in touch and ask for contact details of the administrator.
If it’s a personal pension, try to find any old paperwork that may give you an idea of where or who your money is with.
Don’t panic too much if you can’t find any paperwork, you can try the government’s Pension Tracing Service.
It will search over 200,000 schemes and supply contact details of companies you might have a pension with. You can then call the company concerned and get them to unearth your forgotten pots.
How to Find Lost Investments
Like with pensions, we can accrue various investments throughout our lives. Sometimes keeping track of these is easier said than done. Your family expands; other things take priority; you move to a new house and misplace papers; you change email…there’s plenty of reasons why people forget or even lose information on investments.
I have paperwork! Great, if you know the company you held investments or other accounts with, you can contact them, and they will help reunite you with your accounts.
I don’t have any paperwork…Okay, don’t panic, it’s worth trying My Lost Account, a free tool launched by the banks, building societies, and NS&I, which lets you search for accounts.
It takes up to 90 days for all the institutions to get back to you and let you know if you have an account, but it’s better than never knowing or any account being lost for good!
Once you know IF you have an account/investment, you need to contact them directly. The drop-down menus show you all the companies it is searching, so you can see if your investment company is listed.
Other useful sources to try for finding lost accounts or investments:
- The Investment Associationcan help you find lost unit trusts
- Association of Investment Companiescan help hunt down investment trusts
- Unclaimed Assets Register a service run by Experian (fee applies) and searches the records of around 75 different providers including investment firms and pension companies