Latest news with #PensionTracingService
Daily Mirror
4 days ago
- Business
- Daily Mirror
Millions of Brits urged to check for £9,400 in lost savings - steps to take now
The PPI defines a pension as "lost" when the provider is unable to contact the saver who owns it. The recent spike in the number of lost pots has been blamed on workplace pension auto-enrolment Millions of Brits could be in with a chance of a £9,400 boost if they have one of the millions of "lost" savings pots in the UK. According to a study by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) charity, there are around 3.3million pension pots in the UK which are considered "lost". Collectively, these pots are believed to be worth around £31billion. This is up from £26.6billion in 2022 across 2.8 million accounts and is an increase of 60%, or nearly £12billion, since 2018. These lost pensions are now worth an average of £9,470, rising to £13,620 among those ages between 55 and 75. The PPI defines a pension as "lost" when the provider is unable to contact the saver who owns it. The recent spike in the number of lost pots has been blamed on workplace pension auto-enrolment. As workplaces enrol all workers over the age of 22 into a workplace pension, those who move jobs frequently could end up with multiple pots they may not fully be aware of. Although this has been an issue for the last few decades, now that every employer needs to offer one, it is expected to push up these figures even higher. PensionBee warns that a "national crisis" could be ahead as the total number of UK pension pots is expected to rise 130% from 106million to 243 million by 2050. Chris Blackwood, spokesperson for the Pension Attention campaign, said: 'If you can do one thing today, use the pension tracing tools to find any lost pension pots. It only takes a few clicks, and you could substantially add to your pot.' You can track down lost pension pots yourself for free by contacting ex-employers and digging out old paperwork. The Government also has a free Pension Tracing Service tool. This service allows you to enter an employer's name to find the contact details of the pension provider they use. The helpline will then provide contact details so you can get in touch. Helen Morrissey, head of retirement analysis at Hargreaves Lansdown, highlighted the urgency of tracking down a lost pot sooner rather than later, as the money could have a 'major impact' on your retirement planning. Join Money Saving Club's specialist topics For all you savvy savers and bargain hunters out there, there's a golden opportunity to stretch your pounds further. The Money Saving Club newsletter, a favourite among thousands who thrive on catching the best deals, is stepping up its game. Simply follow the link and select one or more of the following topics to get all the latest deals and advice on: Travel; Property; Pets, family and home; Personal finance; Shopping and discounts; Utilities. She noted that even the smallest pensions can grow over time, and that the pension you paid into a decade or more ago could well have grown a 'decent amount.' For example, a £10,000 pension pot would be worth more than £16,400 after 10 years if it grew at 5% per year. She said: 'This could play an important role in your retirement income. With 21% of people admitting to having lost track of a pension and a further 18% being unsure if they have, it's a major issue. The good news is that you can do something about it.'
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How plans to track smaller pension pots could go further to build a lifetime pot
There are millions of small pension pots littering the system. It's an unwelcome consequence of auto-enrolment, whereby you are automatically put into a pension at work, but as we move from job to job, we accumulate more of them. So what should be done about them? The government estimates there are more than 13 million small pots in the system and wants to introduce what's known as a Small Pots Data Platform, which will scoop up pots worth less than £1,000. The idea is that all small pots linked to you will go to one provider, making it easier to keep track of them. Used alongside the long-awaited Pension Dashboard, these reforms could transform people's retirement by enabling them to see their pensions in one place. By giving a better idea of what your whole pension wealth is, you can make better retirement decisions as a result. Read more: UK pensions dashboard: What is it and when will the tool be available? The idea is that the Small Pots Data Platform should be up and running by 2030, with the Dashboard coming into a play a few years earlier. The reforms spell good news for pension savers, but retirement experts at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown would like them to go further. The infrastructure built for the Small Pots Data Platform could be used to facilitate a Lifetime Pot model. This is where the member chooses which provider receives their contributions regardless of where they work. It means they keep one pension with them through their career and deals with the small pot issues at source so it could prove to be a valuable option. If all these reforms seem like too far away there are things you can do to keep track of your pensions. Make a list of everywhere you have worked and check to see if you have pension paperwork for them. Read more: Ignoring this form could delay pension inheritance and risk 40% tax If you don't, then call the Government's Pension Tracing Service. All you need is either your employer's name or that of the provider and they can give you contact details. You might find a pension worth thousands of pounds that makes a big difference to your retirement. Once you've tracked down all your pensions then it might be worth consolidating them. This can make it easier to manage your pensions and cut down on time and administration. However, before you do so, you should make sure that it is in your best interests to merge these pots. For instance, you may incur expensive exit penalties by moving pension providers. You may also find that you potentially miss out on important benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates by making a switch. It's also well worth saying that it rarely makes sense to transfer out of a defined benefit pension. Read more: How inheritance tax on pensions will impact retirement spending The impact of freedom and choice pension reforms 10 years on 5 vital but difficult questions to ask family membersSign in to access your portfolio
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How plans to track smaller pension pots could go further to build a lifetime pot
There are millions of small pension pots littering the system. It's an unwelcome consequence of auto-enrolment, whereby you are automatically put into a pension at work, but as we move from job to job, we accumulate more of them. So what should be done about them? The government estimates there are more than 13 million small pots in the system and wants to introduce what's known as a Small Pots Data Platform, which will scoop up pots worth less than £1,000. The idea is that all small pots linked to you will go to one provider, making it easier to keep track of them. Used alongside the long-awaited Pension Dashboard, these reforms could transform people's retirement by enabling them to see their pensions in one place. By giving a better idea of what your whole pension wealth is, you can make better retirement decisions as a result. Read more: UK pensions dashboard: What is it and when will the tool be available? The idea is that the Small Pots Data Platform should be up and running by 2030, with the Dashboard coming into a play a few years earlier. The reforms spell good news for pension savers, but retirement experts at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown would like them to go further. The infrastructure built for the Small Pots Data Platform could be used to facilitate a Lifetime Pot model. This is where the member chooses which provider receives their contributions regardless of where they work. It means they keep one pension with them through their career and deals with the small pot issues at source so it could prove to be a valuable option. If all these reforms seem like too far away there are things you can do to keep track of your pensions. Make a list of everywhere you have worked and check to see if you have pension paperwork for them. Read more: Ignoring this form could delay pension inheritance and risk 40% tax If you don't, then call the Government's Pension Tracing Service. All you need is either your employer's name or that of the provider and they can give you contact details. You might find a pension worth thousands of pounds that makes a big difference to your retirement. Once you've tracked down all your pensions then it might be worth consolidating them. This can make it easier to manage your pensions and cut down on time and administration. However, before you do so, you should make sure that it is in your best interests to merge these pots. For instance, you may incur expensive exit penalties by moving pension providers. You may also find that you potentially miss out on important benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates by making a switch. It's also well worth saying that it rarely makes sense to transfer out of a defined benefit pension. Read more: How inheritance tax on pensions will impact retirement spending The impact of freedom and choice pension reforms 10 years on 5 vital but difficult questions to ask family members
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How plans to track smaller pension pots could go further to build a lifetime pot
There are millions of small pension pots littering the system. It's an unwelcome consequence of auto-enrolment, whereby you are automatically put into a pension at work, but as we move from job to job, we accumulate more of them. So what should be done about them? The government estimates there are more than 13 million small pots in the system and wants to introduce what's known as a Small Pots Data Platform, which will scoop up pots worth less than £1,000. The idea is that all small pots linked to you will go to one provider, making it easier to keep track of them. Used alongside the long-awaited Pension Dashboard, these reforms could transform people's retirement by enabling them to see their pensions in one place. By giving a better idea of what your whole pension wealth is, you can make better retirement decisions as a result. Read more: UK pensions dashboard: What is it and when will the tool be available? The idea is that the Small Pots Data Platform should be up and running by 2030, with the Dashboard coming into a play a few years earlier. The reforms spell good news for pension savers, but retirement experts at financial services company Hargreaves Lansdown would like them to go further. The infrastructure built for the Small Pots Data Platform could be used to facilitate a Lifetime Pot model. This is where the member chooses which provider receives their contributions regardless of where they work. It means they keep one pension with them through their career and deals with the small pot issues at source so it could prove to be a valuable option. If all these reforms seem like too far away there are things you can do to keep track of your pensions. Make a list of everywhere you have worked and check to see if you have pension paperwork for them. Read more: Ignoring this form could delay pension inheritance and risk 40% tax If you don't, then call the Government's Pension Tracing Service. All you need is either your employer's name or that of the provider and they can give you contact details. You might find a pension worth thousands of pounds that makes a big difference to your retirement. Once you've tracked down all your pensions then it might be worth consolidating them. This can make it easier to manage your pensions and cut down on time and administration. However, before you do so, you should make sure that it is in your best interests to merge these pots. For instance, you may incur expensive exit penalties by moving pension providers. You may also find that you potentially miss out on important benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates by making a switch. It's also well worth saying that it rarely makes sense to transfer out of a defined benefit pension. Read more: How inheritance tax on pensions will impact retirement spending The impact of freedom and choice pension reforms 10 years on 5 vital but difficult questions to ask family members
Yahoo
04-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
How Gen X can still save for a decent retirement
An interesting piece of research landed in my inbox last week which said that only 28% of Generation X think they will save enough to give themselves a decent retirement. This is far lower than younger generations such as Generation Z – 50% of whom think they are on track – and Millennials, at 47%. So why do Gen Xers view their retirement prospects so poorly? For many of them they believe they've fallen between the gap of being too young to have benefitted from final salary pensions and yet too old to really take advantage of having been auto-enrolled in a pension throughout their career. The timing may well be challenging, but it's important not to panic. There are several things you can do to improve your pension saving. Read more: How to get tax relief on your pension contributions The first thing you need to do is make sure you haven't lost track of any pensions from previous jobs. It's easily done but it could blow a huge hole in your retirement planning. Research from the Pensions Policy Institute estimates there are well over 3 million lost pensions in the system – that's a lot of money that could be used to bolster people's retirement planning. Take some time to make a list of everywhere you have worked. If you think you may have had a pension with any of these employers, but don't have any paperwork, then contact the government's Pension Tracing Service and they will be able to help you find contact details. You could find a pot worth thousands of pounds that could seriously perk up your retirement prospects. It's also well worth making use of some of the great online tools out there such as pension calculators. They can tell you how much you are on track to have in retirement, and you can even model the impact of increasing your contributions on how much you end up with. You might get a nice surprise and realise you are better prepared than you first thought. Even if you've got some catching up to do you've got time to put a plan in place to try and close the gap. Read more: How to plan for a comfortable retirement as we live longer Money may be very tight right now and you may feel like you don't have the extra to spare to put into your pension. This is especially the case if you have a mortgage to pay and children to feed. However, if you do get a pay increase, or even a new job then this can be a great opportunity to boost your contributions. You won't be used to having the extra money in your budget and so allocating a portion of it to your pension can prove a bit less painful. It's also worth seeing what your employer can offer you. Many of them contribute at auto-enrolment minimum levels but some employers are willing to do more if you boost your contribution – the so-called employer match. If this is the case, it can be a great way of boosting your overall contribution without necessarily having to put much more in yourself. Read more: How to fix gaps in your state pension contributions How to improve your pension income Five top tips if you retire in 2025Sign in to access your portfolio
