Aviva launches free pension tracing service – how does it compare?

If you’ve changed jobs a couple of times, the chances are you’ll have built up more than one workplace pension.

But if you’ve lost track of them, pensions firm Aviva has launched a new service that could help your search. 

Although the government is planning to introduce pensions dashboards as a way to bring pension pots together in one place, the project has been delayed multiple times, so free pension tracing tools can help to fill the gap. 

Here, Which? takes a closer look at Aviva’s new Find and Combine pension tracing service and compares it to other tools that can track down lost retirement savings.

How do pensions become lost?

The average person will have around 11 different jobs over their lifetime, according to the Association of British Insurers (ABI). 

Research organisation the Pension Policy Institute estimates that 2.8m pension pots are lost in the UK, worth a total of £26.6bn – making the typical lost pension pot worth around £9,500. 

In many cases, the company that originally sold the pension product may have been absorbed into another business and the brand is no longer active. This can make it challenging to find out who now administers your pension account.

• Find out more: do you know how to find lost pensions?

How does Aviva's tool work?

Aviva’s new free Find and Combine service can locate these lost pensions for you using artificial intelligence to speed up the process.

To get started you’ll need to apply online on the Aviva website with as much information about where you’ve worked and any pensions you may have. This process can take around 20 minutes.

To do this, you’ll need to create a MyAviva or MyWorkspace account, which will require identification, a mobile phone, personal details such as your National Insurance (NI) number, your previous addresses and employment details for any pensions you think you may have. 

Aviva will then begin the search for information on your behalf. It said that not all providers are quick to respond to a request for information, so this process could take between four to 12 weeks from when you apply. 

Once found, the request for information from pension providers is digitally produced and emailed to you. 

Your dashboard report will include what your pots are worth and also include any information on any safeguarded or valuable benefits you may lose if you choose to consolidate your pension pots, and any charges you may incur if you decide to transfer them. 

You’ll then be given the option to consolidate or speak with an independent financial advisor, but there will be no obligation to do either. 

If you do decide to consolidate your pensions with Aviva, this process may take another three to six weeks. 

• Find out more: how much do you need to retire?

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Aviva pilot tracks £87m of lost pensions 

Aviva claims it's the only UK pension provider to create an ‘end-to-end’ tracing service that not only traces lost pensions but also checks them for valuable or safeguarded benefits and fees. 

We’ve not tested this service at Which?, but Aviva said since its pilot launch of the scheme in 2022, it has tracked down and reconnected customers with £87m of lost pensions, worth an average of £15,000. The largest single pension found to date is worth more than £350,000. 

Of these, 2% had a valuable or safeguarded benefit attached to the policy, such as a protected tax-free sum, a loyalty bonus or life assurance, that would have been lost had the customer consolidated their pensions without checking.

• Find out more: how to plan for retirement

Should you consolidate your pensions?

If you have several different workplace pensions built up with different employers, it can be difficult to keep track of how they're performing. 

A pension transfer would see you consolidating your pots with another provider, or moving your existing pots into one of your pensions. 

The main reasons to switch include reducing the charges you pay or accessing different investment options.

However, you may have to pay ‘exit penalties’, which could cancel out the benefit of transferring to a new provider.

• Find out more: how to consolidate your pension

How does Aviva's service compare?

There are several other ways you can use to track down your retirement pots. 

Government pension tracing service

The pension tracing service searches a database of more than 200,000 workplace and personal pension schemes to try to find the contact details you need. It's free to use. You can search online or call on 0800 731 0193.

It won't tell you whether you have a pension or what value it is, and you'll need the name of an employer or pension provider to use the service.

Gretel

Gretel is an assets-tracing service and is free to use. It can also help reunite you with other lost products such as bank accounts and insurance policies.

All you need to do is register your details and it will continue to keep searching as more records are added.

• Find out more: how to find lost bank and savings accounts

The Pension Tracing Service

Not to be confused with the government's tracing service, this is a private service that launched in 2012 and is free to use. 

You'll need to give the service written authorisation to conduct the search and provide some personal details such as your NI number.

The Pension Tracing Service will then contact HMRC, the DWP, pension providers, trustees and previous employers to try to trace your missing pensions. It has access to the pension scheme registry, meaning it can access up to 200,000 schemes and will be able to give an indication of the value of your lost pension pots.

ABI Lost Pensions

The Association of British Insurers gives you steps you can follow to find the relevant contact details for the provider now responsible for your policy. 

It’s free to search but fairly limited unless you already know who your pensions were with.

AJ Bell pension tracing tool

Launched last August, this is a tool to search for pensions held in your name using your NI number and basic employment details. 

The search will come back with the details of your pensions, including which company is responsible for the pension today, the transfer value, whether there are any defined or guaranteed benefits attached to the plan and whether it's eligible for transfer. You’ll also be told the approximate value of your pension or pensions. 

Once the search is complete, you’ll be given the option of transferring your pensions into one with AJ Bell. It takes around two to four weeks to complete and is free to use.

• Find out more: AJ Bell launches free pension tracing tool