Two in five pension savers do not keep track of pensions

Almost two in five (38%) of people have said that they are not sure or do not know where their pension savings are held, Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has found.

In a survey of 2,000 people, HL revealed that almost two thirds of people (62%) know where all of their pensions are held.

In comparison, over one in five (22%) said they are not sure where their pension savings are held, while a further 16% said they don’t know where their money is kept.

HL said that it was the older generations that were more likely to know where their pensions are, with just 8% of over 55s stating that they don’t know where all their pension are held.

However, a further 18% admitted they are not sure.

For those aged between 18-34 years old, one in five (21%) don’t know where their pensions were held, while a further 28% are unsure.

Head of retirement analysis at HL, Helen Morrissey, said: "It’s easy to put off tidying up our pension admin, but doing so risks us losing out in retirement. Almost 40% of people admit they don’t know where their pensions are held, and this puts them at extra risk of losing track of them altogether.

"The problem lessens as we get older with only 8% saying they definitely don’t know where all their pensions are held – however a further 18% admitted they aren’t sure. The problem gets much worse for younger people with almost half of the 18-34 age group admitting they either don’t know or aren’t sure where their pensions are held. This could be because older generations have been less impacted by auto-enrolment and so have fewer pensions to begin with. Others may have decided to keep track to minimise the risk of losing them in the run up to retirement."

The financial services firm said that not knowing where pensions are held can lead to losing track of them, which can affect retirement income.

Morrissey added: "You might not stay in a role for very long and so think it doesn’t really matter if you lose track of a pension. However, small pensions grow over time and so not keeping track of them could leave you thousands of pounds out of pocket when you come to leave work. The most recent data from the Pensions Policy Institute estimates there is around £26bn of lost pension money washing around the system, with the average lost pension being worth over £9,000 – so it’s well worth keeping track.

"Auto-enrolment means many of us will get a new pension with every job we do so we could end our working life with multiple pots. The government is looking at how to introduce a lifetime pension whereby people can choose the pension they want their employer to pay contributions into. This will go a long way towards helping people keep track of their pensions, although this will take time to implement."



Share Story:

Recent Stories


FREE E-NEWS SIGN UP

Subscribe to our newsletter to receive breaking news and other industry announcements by email.

  Please tick here to confirm you are happy to receive third party promotions from carefully selected partners.


NEW BUILD IN FOCUS - NEW EPISODE OF THE MORTGAGE INSIDER PODCAST, OUT NOW
Figures from the National House-Building Council saw Q1 2025 register a 36% increase in new homes built across the UK compared with the same period last year, representing a striking development for the first-time buyer market. But with the higher cost of building, ongoing planning challenges and new and changing regulations, how sustainable is this growth? And what does it mean for brokers?

The role of the bridging market and technology usage in the industry
Content editor, Dan McGrath, sat down with chief operating officer at Black & White Bridging, Damien Druce, and head of development finance at Empire Global Finance, Pete Williams, to explore the role of the bridging sector, the role of AI across the industry and how the property market has fared in the Labour Government’s first year in office.


Does the North-South divide still exist in the UK housing market?
What do the most expensive parts of the country reveal about shifting demand? And why is the Manchester housing market now outperforming many southern counterparts?



In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance, to explore how regional trends are redefining the UK housing, mortgage and buy-to-let markets.

The new episode of The Mortgage Insider podcast, out now
Regional housing markets now matter more than ever. While London and the Southeast still tend to dominate the headlines from a house price and affordability perspective, much of the growth in rental yields and buyer demand is coming from other parts of the UK.

In this episode of the Barclays Mortgage Insider Podcast, host Phil Spencer is joined by Lucian Cook, Head of Research at Savills, and Ross Jones, founder of Home Financial and Evolve Commercial Finance.