Retail consultant Andrew Evangelidis uncovered a forgotten £30,000 Standard Life pension pot after finding an old letter stored in files under his bed in Pinner.
The 52-year-old father of one found the letter while clearing out paperwork he had kept under his bed for years. It referred to an old pension he had not thought about for years, had completely forgotten he had, and had not received any correspondence about for some time because it was addressed to a previous home.
Evangelidis, who lives in Pinner in north-west London with his wife, Shaina, 50, and their daughter, Siena, 16, realised he had probably not updated his contact details when he moved. "I phoned the number on the letter but it was no longer operational. So I went on Google, found the new number and gave Standard Life a call," he said.
"I explained that I was now at a new address and tentatively asked how much was in my newly discovered pension," he added. Standard Life told him that the pension was worth £30,000.
Founded in Edinburgh in 1825 and now part of Phoenix Group, Standard Life is one of the United Kingdom's largest long-term savings and workplace pension providers.
Retirement savings and state pension triple lock concerns
"I already had seven pension pots worth around £180,000 in total, built up working in the retail sector in buying and merchandising since the 1990s," Evangelidis said. "While going through all my papers, I'd tracked down a few other old pensions, but they were typically only worth about £1,000."
"Tracking down an old pension valued at £30,000 was a revelation," he said. "The extra money will be a useful additional financial buffer for my retirement. It gives me more flexibility and I will probably take a lump sum from my pension when I'm 57." He added: "My wife is from Kenya and as we get older, we may choose to spend part of the year over there once we retire."
Evangelidis is not sure when he will stop working and fears he has not saved enough for retirement, though the £30,000 discovery will make a major difference. "I know I am in a fortunate position as many people my age won't even have £100,000 saved in pensions, but I still worry I won't have enough to fund my retirement," he said.
"I also worry about proposed changes to the state pension triple lock," he added. "On the one hand, as a taxpayer, I know the triple lock is expensive. But on the other hand, changes to the state pension look set to negatively affect me when I'm older, which is concerning. The state pension will either be lower by the time I retire, or there might not even be one at all."
Introduced in 2010, the triple lock raises the UK state pension each April by the highest of Consumer Prices Index inflation, average wage growth, or 2.5 per cent.
Three million lost pension pots in the UK
Lost pension pots have become a growing problem as jobs for life vanish. More than three million pension pots are lost across the UK, worth an average of £6,000 each, according to the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), an independent retirement research organisation.
Younger workers are particularly at risk of losing track of pensions, with 37 per cent of those aged between 18 and 29 unsure where some or all of their previous pensions are. Around 2.5 million lost pension pots are thought to belong to people under the age of 55, according to the research, which was supported by the government-backed Money and Pensions Service.
Under UK automatic enrolment rules introduced in 2012, employers must enrol eligible workers into a workplace scheme, creating new pension pots as staff move between jobs.
Standard Life research on job switchers
Separate findings from Standard Life this week showed that 66 per cent of Britons switching jobs do not know how much they have saved in pensions. Only a third of people who have worked for multiple employers knew the full details of all their previous pension pots.
More than a quarter of people do not know where some or all of their pension pots are, including one in ten who do not know where any are held.
Emma Furlonger, managing director for workplace pensions at Standard Life, said: "Changing jobs is a normal part of working life, but it's easy for pension savings to slip off the radar as people move between employers. Starting a new role means getting to grips with a new routine and benefits, so it's understandable that pensions built up with previous employers might not be front of mind."
How to trace lost workplace pensions
Savers who have lost track of their pensions can start by checking previous pension statements or paperwork. "Providers should send you an annual statement with details of your pension, including its value and what it could be worth in retirement," Furlonger said. "These documents may also help you identify the provider or scheme administrator."
Those who cannot find relevant paperwork can contact previous employers to find out which pension scheme they were enrolled in, as employers should be able to provide scheme details or point them toward the provider. Savers can also use the Government's free online Pension Tracing Service for up-to-date scheme contact details, keeping their National Insurance number and previous employment dates to hand.
"Keeping your contact details up to date is one of the simplest ways to avoid losing track of your pensions," Furlonger said. "Make sure all your providers, past and present, have your current address, phone number and personal email address. This is particularly important when changing jobs, as you may no longer have access to your work email."
"Keeping a record of your pension providers and policy numbers can also make it easier to stay on top of your savings," she added. "You could also consider bringing your pensions together into one plan, which can make them easier to manage and reduce paperwork. However, this isn't right for everyone, so it's important to check whether you could lose any valuable benefits or guarantees before making a decision."
