UK pensioners missing out on £31bn pension pot by failing to do one thing

UK pensioners are missing out on a collective £31bn in missing savings, per a report urging people to take action. Just one choice means millions may find themselves with a backlog of savings in pots they never knew they had. Pensioners were prompted to take action as soon as they could by money saving experts who say there could be a pot of missing funds to be claimed.

The Pensions Policy Institute estimates that around £31.1bn is currently left unclaimed across private and workplace pensions in the UK. There are ways to track down the missing money, but experts at MoneyFactsCompare confirmed the reason so much is missing is down to a change to how people and their employer pay into their pensions.

Leanne Macardle explained: "The majority of people no longer have a job for life. In fact, it's estimated that workers change jobs every five years on average, typically holding nine different jobs in their lifetime, and many will completely change career paths at least once during that time.

"Given that most people will have a new pension pot set up with each new position, it's little wonder that some can fall off the radar. Paperwork can be lost or funds simply forgotten about over the years, which can be even more likely if you only worked somewhere for a short amount of time."

Macardle went on to prompt those who believe they may have missing pension pots to track them down, as she revealed the staggering amount per person that could be missing.

Macardle said £9,500 per person is the figure for missing pension pots. The money expert went on to suggest what could be done to find the missing pension pots.

Advice issued by the agency included writing down a list of former employers, tracking down any paperwork possible, and contacting both the Pension Tracing Service and pension provider.

Those who find they have multiple pension pots were also prompted into consolidating their accounts. Macardle added: "If you find that you've accumulated several different pension pots over the years, you may want to consider consolidating them.

"Consolidating means you're bringing all your pensions together in one place, which can make it easier to keep track of them and you could potentially benefit from an investment and cost point of view too. However, it's important to seek advice to make sure it's the right decision and that you won't be missing out on any benefits."