Savers have lost £400million in old pension pots
I’ll rise to ice challenge says Bake Off’s Candice
MILLIONS of savers have lost track of their pensions with barely half knowing who their actual provider is, a study reveals.
Savers are also in the dark about how much they have put away. One in three workers has no idea of the amount of money they have saved and 37 per cent only a “vague idea”.
Government statistics show there is currently more than £400million in unclaimed pensions savings.
The average saver now has multiple pension pots built up over 11 jobs through a typical working life.
Opportunity
But a fifth have no idea how to track their old pensions pots down.
Simon Markey, chief executive of financial services group OneFamily, which commissioned the survey, said: “The start of the new year is a great opportunity for savers to get their existing investments in order, and think about the future and what they might need.
“Tracking down and keeping on top of existing savings is the first step,” he added.
He advised savers to contact employers as a first step.
One of the best ways to track down old pension pots is through the free Pension Tracing Service, provided by old the Department for Work and Pensions. The service was launched in May 2016 to help workers find cash they originally saved for retirement.
It has now been used more than a million times by savers.
Experts also recommend combining pension funds from various schemes into one pot.
Jamie Smith-Thompson, of financial planners Portafina, said: “Millions of pounds is forgotten in pensions each year because of lost details such as names and key dates.
“Most of these schemes will be from the pre-internet age and so all the information people hold at home will be on bits of paper.
“The good news is that the Government, the companies involved and the various regulators all want these lost pensions back in the hands of their rightful owners so there’s a lot of free support available to do this.
“It is well worth looking into as even a long forgotten pension can be a significant asset.
“Plus, there may be a better pension that it could now be transferred to in order to improve its growth, once you have recovered it.” GREAT British Bake Off winner Candice Brown has promised to sparkle in the glamour stakes when she appears on Dancing On Ice.
Candice, 33, became known for her lipsticks and pouting as well as her show-stopping cakes on her way to the Bake Off crown in 2016.
And as she prepared to get her skates on for Sunday’s start of Dancing On Ice, she said: “I am so ready to embrace it. I want all the lipsticks, I want all the feathers, I want all the sequins. I love getting dressed up so this is getting dressed up and then some.”
London-born Candice, due to marry fiance Liam Macaulay in September, said the gruelling training was ideal to get into shape for her big day.
“I spend most of the time on the ice freezing my butt off.
“I hope it will get my body ready for the wedding. I don’t really enjoy the gym,” she said.