More than a quarter (26 per cent) of UK adults don't know who their current pension provider is, whilst two-thirds (66 per cent) have never even tried to track down their lost pots, research from Standard Life has revealed. 

The firm highlighted the findings as evidence of a "worrying" lack of awareness about what happens to pensions when people change jobs. 

Indeed, just under a quarter (24 per cent) of adults don’t realise that moving employers can lead to multiple pension pots, and fewer than a third (30 per cent) have kept track of all their pensions from previous jobs.

And whilst industry research has previously suggested that the average lost pot is worth around £9,4701, two-thirds (66 per cent) of those who haven’t consolidated their savings have never tried to track them down. 

Whilst a further 27 per cent of Brits say they intend to track down their lost pensions, nearly two-fifths (39 per cent) have no plans to do so. 

Being unsure where to start was the main reason behind this apathy, cited by 31 per cent of people, while nearly a fifth (17 per cent) believe it's not worth the effort, 11 per cent don't have time, and 10 per cent felt it's simply too much hassle. 

Consolidation efforts also continued to lag, as despite industry hopes for consolidation as a solution, Standard Life found that nearly two-thirds (60 per cent) of adults have never combined their workplace pensions. 

This trend was particularly pronounced among older groups with nearly three quarters (73 per cent) of the Silent Generation saying they’ve never consolidated their pension pots, alongside 65 per cent of Baby Boomers and 66 per cent of Gen X.

In addition to this, half (50 per cent) of Millennials and 55 per cent of Gen Z have also never consolidated their pots.

Commenting on the findings, Standard Life retirement and savings director, Mike Ambery, said: “Millions of people risk losing out on valuable retirement savings simply because they’ve lost track of their pensions.

"With multiple job moves now the norm, it’s easy for pots to slip through the cracks. While tracking pots down may seem like a hard task, there are simple steps you can take to get your pots in order.

"The good news is help is at hand, with government initiatives like pensions dashboards and automatic small pot consolidation on the way – but the timelines remain uncertain, so it’s important to take control now rather than wait.”

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