Pensions - Articles - Lost and unclaimed pension pots exceed £4bn

 Paul Lalwan, Co-founder of PensionsLink, commented:

 “From the figures we have collected, it is clear that a lot of work needs to be done to engage people with the importance of their retirement savings and keeping on top of the entitlements they hold. For schemes, tracing is an administrative burden they could long do without and missing members represent liabilities that cannot be easily dealt with at crucial times – such as at windup or when considering de-risking exercises.

  

 “Our research indicates that around 20% of deferred records hold an incorrect address for the member, which would equate to over one million members throughout the UK. As well as the difficulty in finding these members to retire them from the scheme, they also cannot take up other de-risking options that their schemes may offer – such as ETV exercises, PIEs, trivial commutation or refunds of contributions. We strongly believe that administrators need to be much more proactive in helping deferred members get back in contact with their pension scheme for the benefit of both the scheme and the member”

  

 Lalwan continued: “From the members’ point of view, it is important that they ensure they are aware of all of their pension entitlements across their employment history. With new freedoms providing members with a wider range of options than ever before, these decisions need to be made on the member’s full picture to avoid making the wrong choice.”