The UK financial services industry’s Billions 4 Millions campaign has raised its 2026 target to £3bn after recovering £700m for consumers in the first quarter of the year.
The initiative, led by Gretel, was launched in January to help reconnect individuals with lost or unclaimed assets across pensions, investments, insurance and savings. The new target reflects stronger-than-expected early progress and growing participation across the sector.
The largest single reconnection in the first quarter was £249,000, while the average value across all sectors stood at £12,000. The highest average value by product area was investments at £22,500, while the pensions sector accounted for the majority of assets reunited.
The campaign brings together firms across financial services to coordinate tracing activity and improve visibility of lost assets. It has a focus on delivering better customer outcomes particularly for disengaged or vulnerable individuals.
The next phase will focus on expanding participation across the industry, as firms look to scale efforts to identify and return unclaimed assets to consumers.
Gretel founder and convenor of Billions 4 Millions Duncan Stevens says: “Achieving this level of progress so early in the campaign provides clear proof that coordinated industry action can deliver measurable consumer outcomes at scale. Behind every reconnection is an individual or family being reunited with money that is rightfully theirs, often at a time when it can make a real difference.
“Given the scale of the opportunity and the pace of progress we are already seeing, we are increasing our ambition and raising the target to £3 billion for 2026. The momentum is clearly there. The focus now is on accelerating participation, scaling activity and ensuring even more people benefit from being reconnected with their assets.”
