Industry efforts to support the National Pension Tracing Day campaign are underway, with research from Hargreaves Lansdown revealing that 23 per cent of savers believe they have lost track of a pension, while 18 per cent were unsure if they have.

The National Pension Tracing Day (29 October), created by Punter Southall, aims to raise awareness around the increasing number of unclaimed pensions, which has risen by over a third (37 per cent) to nearly £27bn since 2018.

The campaign has been backed by a number of industry organisations, with a number of providers sharing tips as to how pension savers can track down a lost pension.

In particular, Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, suggested that the government’s Pension Tracing Service is a "vital service" in helping people track down these pensions, but not enough people are aware of it.

A recent freedom of information request from Hargreaves Lansdown also revealed that the Pension Tracing Service received 251,733 phone calls between July 2018 and August 2023.

However, Morrissey argued that "this is just a fraction of the potential need with the Pensions Policy Institute last year estimating the number of lost pension pots at 2.8m".

“Tracking down a lost pension could have a transformative effect on your retirement so taking the time to think through what pensions you have and filling in any gaps could be an hour extremely well spent," she continued.

Adding to this, Royal London consumer finance specialist, Sarah Pennells, said: “Most of us will have several jobs in our lifetime, so it’s easy to lose touch with an old pension, especially if you forgot to tell your old pension provider your new address when you moved house.

"If you think you may have a lost pension, start by contacting your old pension provider. If you can’t remember who your pension was with, you can use the government’s Pension Tracing Service. It will give you up to date contact details for the pension scheme.

“If there’s a lost pension with your name on it, you could be thousands of pounds better off when you retire.”

In addition to individual efforts, however, Aegon called on the government to use National Pensions Tracing Day as an opportunity to redouble its efforts and bring forward the guidance required for pension providers to help keep the delayed pensions dashboard on track.

Although pension schemes were meant to start connecting to the pension dashboard digital architecture this year on a phased basis, recent delays and a reset meant that all schemes now have to connect by 31 October 2026, with connection dates to be set out in guidance, which is yet to be published.

Aegon head of pensions, Kate Smith, stated: "We are calling on the UK government to deliver the guidance needed by pension providers to help deliver the long-promised UK pension dashboard.

"The pension dashboard will enable people to see all their pensions online, securely, in one place. Once up and running, people should never again lose track of their old pensions.

“The £26.6bn scandal of lost pensions must become a thing of the past, every penny saved counts, particularly as families struggle through the cost-of-living crisis.

“In the meantime, the industry can look to further help workers get into the habit of taking their pension to their new employer’s workplace scheme as they move jobs.

"It’s all too easy to undervalue or lose track of small pension pots, combining them into a workplace pension scheme not only makes them easier to manage, but also shines the light on how much has been saved.”

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