- Having a file with details of all your pensions gives an idea of how much you have for retirement
- Include non-pension assets because they may also contribute to your retirement income
- It's easier to keep track of a smaller number of pensions, so consider consolidating them
The government is developing an online hub in which you will be able to see information on all the UK pensions you have that are not currently paying out, annuitised or in drawdown, including the state pension. For those who have acquired a variety of workplace pensions over their careers, this 'pensions dashboard' should help you keep track of them and provide a better idea of how much you have saved up for retirement.
However, the launch of the dashboard has been delayed many times already, and the deadline for schemes and providers to connect to it is now not until 31 October 2026 (the dashboards may be accessible to the public earlier than this). The government is also working on plans to consolidate small pension pots, but again it could be some time before this is implemented.
So in the meantime, it makes sense to create your own dashboard to keep track of your assets.
A good starting point is your state pension forecast, which you can get for free on government website at www.gov.uk/check-state-pension. “The forecast will tell you if you have a shortfall and have not qualified for the full basic state pension, and how much it would cost to make up the difference, which generally speaking is very good value – unless you are in poor health with a limited life expectancy,” notes Andrew King, retirement planning specialist at Evelyn Partners. You can buy credits if there is a shortfall, but if you have enough years left in your working you should be able to make it up by the time you reach state pension age simply by continuing with employment.
But your personal dashboard should include more than just details of pensions because you may rely on other assets for income, particularly if you wish to retire early or before the state pension age, which rises from 66 to 67 between 2026 and 2028. You may also want to use other assets before pensions because the latter can be passed on to beneficiaries free of inheritance tax.
Therefore it also makes sense to include investments and cash held outside tax-efficient wrappers. The inclusion of property is also logical given some people use this to help fund retirement.
Tell your beneficiaries and/or executors “where the document is and what it contains, and make sure that somewhere there is reference to usernames and passwords for all online services – especially those that are paperless,” adds King. Also put in details of key contacts such as your solicitor and accountant.
You can get an idea of some of the information and documents you should keep by looking at Octopus Investments’ 'What I own and where I keep it' form.
The form your ‘dashboard’ takes could be an online file such as a spreadsheet or word document, which is easy to update. But printing out a hard copy is a sensible accompaniment to this, and you should make sure your beneficiaries and/or executors know how to access both the online and physical records. If you don’t like doing things online, compile all the necessary information in a folder and keep it in a safe place, and consider entrusting a copy to your solicitor.
Tracing lost pensions
It’s easy to ‘lose’ a pension if, for example, you’ve changed employer, your address or your name and forgotten to tell the pension provider. Tracking a missing pension down, meanwhile, can be even harder if the company that ran it has been taken over, changed its name or closed to new business.
You can try to find contact details for workplace or personal pension schemes via the government’s free Pension Tracing Service at www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details. Or you can request pension scheme contact details by phoning 0800 731 0193 or writing to The Pension Service, Post Handling Site A, Wolverhampton, WV98 1AF.
But the government’s tracing service won't tell you if you actually have a pension or what its value is. And you need the name of an employer or pension provider to use the service. Another option is to email or write to your former employer to ask for full details of your pension entitlement from the scheme to which you contributed, says Lily Megson, policy director of My Pension Expert.
One of your other private pension or investment account providers may offer a free tracing service. For example, Standard Life offers its customers a tool that enables them to find and view known and lost state, workplace and personal pensions from all providers. Legal & General offers a free service to its customers to help find old and forgotten pensions from previous employers, although it doesn’t trace NHS, local government or civil service defined-benefit (DB) pensions, or overseas pensions. L&G's pension tracing service usually takes about four to 16 weeks.
Investment platform AJ Bell, meanwhile, helps to trace pensions held in your name using a UK National Insurance number and basic employment details. If it finds your pension, it will tell you which company is currently responsible for the pension and how much is invested in it.
If you're still struggling to find details of a pension you think you might have, examine direct debits that have gone out of your bank accounts as they may show pensions to which you have contributed. As a final summary, the table below provides an outline of the information it is sensible to establish once you have tracked down a former employer or pension provider.
| Key pieces of information to ask a provider when you find an old pension |
| Pension plan number |
| Current value of this fund |
| Type of policy |
| Current transfer value: if this value is lower than the fund value there are likely to be exit charges. If it is higher bonuses should apply to the plan |
| Any exit penalties |
| All product and fund charges |
| Guarantees attached to the pension |
| Investment options available with this plan |
| If the pension offers flexible retirement and death benefit options |
| How you can take money out |
| Source: Andrew King, Evelyn Partners |
Pension consolidation
Having fewer pensions might mean you don't lose them in the first place. When you join a new employer and are auto-enrolled into its pension scheme, Rachel Vahey, head of public policy at AJ Bell, says to “think about taking your pension with you” to your current workplace scheme.
Consolidating multiple pensions into one or a smaller number of pots makes them easier to deal with and could cut costs. Some older services charge more than modern schemes and don’t allow you to withdraw your money as flexibly, so it might be worth rolling them into a cheaper and more adaptable plan. Services such as that provided by PensionBee help to consolidate pots in this way.
King says to look at your old pensions' level of investment risk; if it isn't suitable then a transfer to a different plan may be in order. Key determinants include the length of time for which the pension will be invested. Free online questionnaires, such as those offered by Royal London at www.royallondon.com/pensions/retirement-planning-tools/risk-profiler/ and Aviva at www.direct.aviva.co.uk/myfuture/RiskProfiler/Landing, can help assess the risk being taken.
But before transferring out of a pension, check with the provider whether you will be charged an exit penalty and if transferring means you would lose benefits. For example, some old schemes allow you to take more than 25 per cent tax-free cash, offer attractive guaranteed annuity rates or pay a pension to your spouse when you die.
If the pension in question is defined-benefit, which guarantees a lifelong retirement income, it is usually beneficial to retain it. And if its transfer value is £30,000 or more you need to receive financial advice before doing this.
Some investors, for example if they are retired or self employed, roll former workplace pensions into a self-invested personal pension (Sipp). But if you are working, your workplace pension is likely to be cheaper, so if its (likely more limited) choice of investments covers your needs it might be worth consolidating your other pensions into this one.
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