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By 2024, UK savers had lost track of more than 3 million pension pots. That’s the equivalent of over £31 billion in lost pension savings, according to research by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI).
The same report shows the number of missing pots more than doubled since 2018. That’s a lot of lost pension savings, which could make a big difference to many people’s future retirement income.
It’s likely at least some of your clients have members with retirement savings that fall into the ‘missing pensions’ category. But here’s the good news: you can help your clients to reunite employees with their lost pensions and support them to save for their financial future.
First, let’s look at the reasons pension pots get lost.
Why are there so many lost pension pots?
Changing jobs is one of the main reasons people lose track of their old pensions. That’s because whenever someone starts a new job, their employer will sign them up to a new workplace pension scheme. Given that most people will have several jobs throughout their lifetime, it’s easy to see how old pots can be forgotten.
And if people move house and forget to tell their pension provider their new address (which, let’s be honest, is easy to do) then you can see how they can lose track of that pension pot.
How to help employees find their lost pensions
It’s common for members not to know how to find their lost pensions, so raising awareness is a good idea.
First, it’s worth supporting clients to remind members to keep their pension details up to date. This could prevent pensions getting left behind in the first place if employees move house or their circumstances change.
Next, let clients and members know how they can locate lost pensions. The Government’s Pensions Tracing Service is a good place to start. If your client has a Standard Life workplace scheme their members can easily access this from the Standard Life mobile app. To start searching, all they need to do is enter the name of their employer or pension provider. They will also be able to use our Pension Finder tool, available through Money Mindset*. This works by scanning their employment history on LinkedIn and using these details to automatically search the Pension Tracing Service – making it quick and easy to find old pensions.
So once members have found a lost pension pot, what’s next?
To make it easier for members to stay in control of their savings, one useful option for employers to consider informing members about is: bringing their pensions together into one place
What are the potential benefits of combining pensions?
‘Combining pensions’. ‘Pension transfers’. ‘Consolidation’. Members may have come across these terms and wonder what they all mean. Our on-demand event, ‘Is it time to combine pension pots?’ explains the idea in simple terms. Your clients can encourage their members to sign up here.
With a pension transfer, members can bring all their pension savings together into one plan, rather than having them spread out over a few pots.
That means they’ll have everything in one place, making it easier for them to see how much they’ve got – and giving them more clarity over their future.
Plus, they won’t need to manage multiple pensions anymore. This could save them a lot of time and admin, not to mention save them from the worry of forgetting old pension pots.
Of course, it’s important that your clients’ members consider whether transferring is right for them.
They’ll need to check they’re not giving up any valuable benefits or guarantees if they transfer, as they may want to keep these. Also, the value of investments can go down as well as up, and members may get back less than was paid in.
Help members decide what’s right for them
Combining pensions is an important decision to make, so it’s a good idea to signpost your clients’ scheme members to information that can help, such as MoneyHelper.
If your client has a Standard Life workplace pension scheme, our pension transfer hub has a range of support materials that can help members decide if they should combine.
Plus, members can get direct access to support through Money Mindset*, where they can find bitesize content and tools to help them decide, as well as combine online.
More ways to promote pension positivity
We have lots of resources that can help you boost pension engagement across your clients’ workforces. Visit our Ready to Go Campaigns hub to choose from a range of free materials, including a campaign dedicated to combining pensions.
The information here is based on our understanding in September 2025.
Standard Life accepts no responsibility for information on external websites. These are provided for general information.
*Money Mindset is provided in partnership with Moneyhub Financial Technology Limited
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