More than one in five (21 per cent) people have lost track of a pension, a survey conducted by Opinium on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed.

The study, which received responses from 1,200 people, also found that 18 per cent were ‘not sure’ whether they had lost a pension.

Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, said that losing track of a pension could have a “major impact” on retirement planning.

"Even the smallest pensions can grow over time, and that pension you paid into a decade or more ago could have grown a decent amount.

“For example, a £10,000 pension pot would be worth more than £16,400 after ten years if it grew at 5 per cent per year. This could play an important role in your retirement income,” she explained.

Morrissey urged those who think they have lost a pension to contact the government’s pension tracing helpline.

“All you need is either the name of the employer or the pension provider, and the helpline will be able to give you contact details so you can get in touch and see if you have a pension with them,” she said.

Morrissey also suggested savers should consider consolidation once lost pensions have been found.

“This can cut down on time, admin and fees and help you make better retirement decisions.

"For instance, if you have three small pension pots, you may be tempted to take them as cash and spend them. However, if they are consolidated into one pot, you are less likely to do this," she argued.

However, Morrissey stressed that there were things savers need to consider before consolidating.

“First of all, transferring a defined benefit pension rarely makes sense due to valuable guarantees in place. You may also find that you potentially incur expensive exit fees by consolidating.

“Other older pension plans also contain valuable benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates that you would lose by consolidating - it’s always a good idea to check for these things before deciding to consolidate,” she added.

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