Finding old pensions?
Discussion
Yeah I'm an idiot.
Around 2010 I had worked for a large multinational with a DC pension. Think this was 3% with matching by employer. That was for 1.5 years.
Then I left and did a PhD for 4 years. Pensionless.
Then I started work at a small outfit. Getting the minimum legal requirement for pension. This went bust after about a year and I got TUPE'd across to the new owners who then set their own pension up. But with the same provider I think (standard life).
That enterprise has now gone bust as well and I'll be facing a new job and yet another new pension (meaning 4th pension in 3 jobs).
How do I chase down the old pensions? Particularly the first one for which I don't think I have any information on? How can I find them? Can I close them? Withdraw the money? Stick it in my new pension?
Around 2010 I had worked for a large multinational with a DC pension. Think this was 3% with matching by employer. That was for 1.5 years.
Then I left and did a PhD for 4 years. Pensionless.
Then I started work at a small outfit. Getting the minimum legal requirement for pension. This went bust after about a year and I got TUPE'd across to the new owners who then set their own pension up. But with the same provider I think (standard life).
That enterprise has now gone bust as well and I'll be facing a new job and yet another new pension (meaning 4th pension in 3 jobs).
How do I chase down the old pensions? Particularly the first one for which I don't think I have any information on? How can I find them? Can I close them? Withdraw the money? Stick it in my new pension?
You can do two things.
1. You can use the government established Pension Tracing Service (PTS) which is free. You can either write in with information or you can use it online. Whatever you do, make sure that you use the official site. There are many lookalike organisations that will charge you a fee or a %age of the value of what they find, if anything. The PTS is often only a start because their information relies on pension schemes keeping the PTS's records up to date which doesn't always happen, thus leaving you to become a "pensions detective".
2. You can contact The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS). This is an indirectly government sponsored organisation, otherwise called a quango, and all it's many services are also free. Their website has some useful information about pension tracing but it is mostly superficial. Better is to write/e-mail them with your problem enclosing copies of any documents that you have that give evidence of a potential pension. You could start by giving them a phone call. TPAS are likely to allocate your enquiry to one of the 400 or so TPAS Advisers. He/she will make all the necessary enquiries for you, all for free. TPAS has dealt with hundreds of enquiries relating to pension tracing, an indication of many people (1000s) trying to link up to their old pension providers (hence the lookalikes).
This is not to say that your pensions will be found. Tracing using the above are often successful eventually, but not always. Tracing can also take an unexpectedly long time.
The major reason that there are so many lost pensions is because the holder moves house and doesn't tell the organisation responsible for the pension. This means the organisation loses contact with the holder. Lesson here: if you have any pensions and move house, ALWAYS tell the organisation responsible for the pension your new address.
And just because a person has an old document indicating they have a pension somewhere, it does not mean the pension is still there. For example, many people keep old certificates tucked away somewhere and find them years later, and in the meantime they have forgotten that when they left the sponsoring employer they had a refund of contributions or transferred the pension to another later employer's pension arrangement, or to a SIPP, or to a personal pension offered by an insurance company.
Good luck: you'll need it!
R.
1. You can use the government established Pension Tracing Service (PTS) which is free. You can either write in with information or you can use it online. Whatever you do, make sure that you use the official site. There are many lookalike organisations that will charge you a fee or a %age of the value of what they find, if anything. The PTS is often only a start because their information relies on pension schemes keeping the PTS's records up to date which doesn't always happen, thus leaving you to become a "pensions detective".
2. You can contact The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS). This is an indirectly government sponsored organisation, otherwise called a quango, and all it's many services are also free. Their website has some useful information about pension tracing but it is mostly superficial. Better is to write/e-mail them with your problem enclosing copies of any documents that you have that give evidence of a potential pension. You could start by giving them a phone call. TPAS are likely to allocate your enquiry to one of the 400 or so TPAS Advisers. He/she will make all the necessary enquiries for you, all for free. TPAS has dealt with hundreds of enquiries relating to pension tracing, an indication of many people (1000s) trying to link up to their old pension providers (hence the lookalikes).
This is not to say that your pensions will be found. Tracing using the above are often successful eventually, but not always. Tracing can also take an unexpectedly long time.
The major reason that there are so many lost pensions is because the holder moves house and doesn't tell the organisation responsible for the pension. This means the organisation loses contact with the holder. Lesson here: if you have any pensions and move house, ALWAYS tell the organisation responsible for the pension your new address.
And just because a person has an old document indicating they have a pension somewhere, it does not mean the pension is still there. For example, many people keep old certificates tucked away somewhere and find them years later, and in the meantime they have forgotten that when they left the sponsoring employer they had a refund of contributions or transferred the pension to another later employer's pension arrangement, or to a SIPP, or to a personal pension offered by an insurance company.
Good luck: you'll need it!
R.
I was lucky. From 1986-88 I worked for a major company that gave a pension as standard. Then 1988 happened and legislation changed and we all had the option to take our money out (and the personal pension feeding frenzy began). Having my money back seemed far more exciting than not having it, and it was worth £400 which was almost a month's wages, so I took it. That was the end of it - or so I thought - until a few years ago I got a letter from Capita, who took over the pension scheme. Somehow I still have the pension and it's worth £280pa. They can't tell me how much the fund is but say it's 20x the annual value - so £5,700. So I can only assume a residual amount was left back in 1988. And no I can't have the lump sum!
Thanks Leaper. Will start collecting what I can and contact the agencies you mention. I think the difficult one will be the first one. I lived at the same address for 5 years after leaving that place And never once had letters or statements about the pension. I'll have to have a dig around.
Otispunkmeyer said:
Around 2010 I had worked for a large multinational with a DC pension.
Unless you've forgotten their name that should be easy to track down - by contacting that company. Even if the company's been taken over it should still be straightforward to find the new owner with a simple Google search. OO,
If only what you say was always the case! Companies get bought, sold, amalgamated etc, and pension responsibilities always seem to be sorted out "later". This often leads to a quagmire of potential responsibilities.
What's really needed now is some central place where organisations who know of their responsibilities could send records indicating, for example, name, date of birth, National Insurance number etc round about the time that the pension is due to start being paid. A person who thinks they are due a pension but cannot trace it could then go to this central organisation and see if they had any record. This would be substantially larger than the Pensions Tracing Agency so financing it would be a major problem. Besides, insurers especially like unclaimed responsibilities because they can write them off to themselves after several years.
At least the OP is has only around ten years of history to investigate. Unfortunately, many people have a lot longer: 30-40 years is not uncommon and a heck of a lot of things can change in such a period.
R.
If only what you say was always the case! Companies get bought, sold, amalgamated etc, and pension responsibilities always seem to be sorted out "later". This often leads to a quagmire of potential responsibilities.
What's really needed now is some central place where organisations who know of their responsibilities could send records indicating, for example, name, date of birth, National Insurance number etc round about the time that the pension is due to start being paid. A person who thinks they are due a pension but cannot trace it could then go to this central organisation and see if they had any record. This would be substantially larger than the Pensions Tracing Agency so financing it would be a major problem. Besides, insurers especially like unclaimed responsibilities because they can write them off to themselves after several years.
At least the OP is has only around ten years of history to investigate. Unfortunately, many people have a lot longer: 30-40 years is not uncommon and a heck of a lot of things can change in such a period.
R.
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