Small pensions can compound to large amounts over the yearsMartin Lewis says people could be owed thousands in lost pension pots(Image: inyourArea)

Martin Lewis is urging people to check if they’re owed tens of thousands of pounds in lost pension savings – especially those who have had multiple jobs over the years.

Even if you can’t yet claim your pension, the money saving expert is advising you track down your accounts now to see if you may be entitled to dramatically more money when you finish working.

Any small pensions can compound with growth over time so can become big lump sums of money even if you didn’t save up a lot to begin with.

Mr Lewis said: “Are you owed £1,000s or £10,000s in lost pensions? There’s a staggering £30 billion – £30,000 million – of lost pensions in the UK, an average of £9,500 each.

“Whether you can take the money out or not depends on your age. Whether you should, go to MoneyHelper or the Pension Service which are free services that will give you one-on-one guidance with your pension.

“It’s not necessarily right to take money out just because you can.”

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The financial expert told of how one of his viewers decided to follow his advice and trace her lost pensions. She found one from the 1990s that she only paid a little bit into over five years – but she will now be paid £160 a month for the rest of her life from it, he said.

How you can lose a pension

There are three main ways you can lose track of a pension over time, Mr Lewis says:

  1. You moved house without updating your details with your pension provider and you’ve gradually lost track of it
  2. You’ve changed jobs – workplace pensions are often with different providers
  3. Your pension provider has merged or rebranded or renamed which can make it difficult to track down

How to track down a lost pension

He advises: “When it comes to finding it, thankfully, with the exception of the State Pension which is different, whether this is a private pensions or SERPS (State Earnings-Related Pension Scheme) or final salary or Money Purchase or anything else, the steps are the same.”

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He said that the first three steps are for if you know some of the details of your lost pension and that the final step is for people who don’t really know any details at all:

  1. Make a list of all of your former employers and pension schemes – if it’s employer based, contact the HR department of the firm that you worked for or the pension provider if not
  2. Use the Pension Tracing Service – if you’re struggling with the first step, use this service to find out who is now in charge of the pension fund
  3. Once you know who the pension is with, contact them. Make sure you have ID – usually your National Insurance Number – and then ask to be reconnected to your fund
  4. There is a fintech firm called Gretel that does a ‘soft search’ on your credit file – a search you see but lenders don’t – to try and match your ID with any dormant assets. But he warns that their database isn’t as big as the Pension Tracing Service so it may not work for everyone