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Lost pensions: the tracing services that could help you find them
We look at the tools that claim to help track them down and what to check before transferring your savings
With a background in financial journalism across national titles, Ruby loves helping people take control of their money and specialises in pensions, tax, banking and benefits.
Millions of pension pots are now sitting lost or forgotten. Since 2018, the total number has risen by 75%, with around 3.3m pots worth £31.1bn currently unclaimed, according to Pensions Policy Institute.
In response, a growing number of tracing services and apps say they can help you to locate old workplace and private pensions – and, in many cases, consolidate them into a single plan.
However, not all platforms offer the same service. They can differ significantly in how consolidation works, the charges that apply once you transfer and whether they check for valuable benefits or exit fees that could be lost.
Here, Which? explains how these services work, what providers currently offer and what to consider before moving your money.
Please note: this article is for information purposes only and doesn't constitute financial or investment advice.
How do pension tracing services work?
Pension tracing services work to find your old workplace and private pensions. To get started, they will need your name and National Insurance number, as well as details and dates of your previous employers. Usually, the more information you can give them, the better.
They then search pension providers' and employers' databases to track down your pot. Once they find any linked to you, you will be notified.
You can then have your pension pots transferred and consolidated into one or moved to an existing pension plan. This can be done either by the pension tracing provider itself or with another scheme.
- Find out more: how to find old pensions
The government's free tracing service
The government offers a basic free pension tracing service that can help you find lost or forgotten pensions. However, it doesn't tell you whether you have a pension or what its value is.
Instead, it gives you the contact details of pension providers, so you can track down old pensions yourself. To use the service, you will need the name of an employer or a pension provider.
You'll also need to give details such as your full name, home address and other information, such as a National Insurance number, phone number and email address.
You can provide this information either through Gov.uk or by calling the Pension Tracing Service on 0800 731 0193. Phone lines are open from Monday to Friday from 8am to 6pm.
- Find out more: how to find old pensions
What private tracing services offer
Private tracing services generally fall into three broad groups.
Some focus mainly on tracing and visibility. Once they locate your pensions, you contact providers yourself if you want to regain access or arrange a transfer.
Others combine tracing with consolidation. If they find your pensions, they will usually offer to transfer them into a pension on their own platform, such as a Sipp (self-invested personal pension) or retirement fund that they manage.
Some services will check whether your pension includes valuable or safeguarded benefits before you transfer it. These are features that can make older pensions particularly valuable, such as guaranteed annuity rates or protected tax-free cash, which could be lost if you move the money elsewhere.
A smaller number provide regulated financial advice as part of the process and may charge for this.
Most advertise tracing as free. However, if you choose to consolidate, ongoing charges will usually apply once your pension is transferred.
- Find out more: how to get pension advice and guidance for your retirement
Pension tracing apps and services
We’ve pulled together the main pension tracing services and outlined how each works in practice, including whether they offer consolidation and benefit checks.
These services are not all the same. Some are pension providers offering tracing tools that allow you to transfer and combine old pots into one plan. Others are designed to help you locate lost pensions and other financial products such as savings accounts, without automatically moving them.
Providers are listed alphabetically. Because features and charges can change, make sure you review the latest terms before using.
Providers listed in alphabetical order. Correct as of 24/02/2026.
Check the charges before you transfer
Most private tracing services advertise the search itself as free. But if you decide to consolidate your pensions onto their platform, ongoing charges will usually apply.
In our research into the main pension tracing services, we found that annual platform or account fees typically range from around 0.3% to 0.8%, depending on the provider and the size of your pension.
You’ll usually also pay fund management charges, which tend to sit between 0.1% and 0.3% for passive funds, although actively managed investments can cost more. Some services may also charge a one-off fee if regulated financial advice is provided or if they locate and transfer pensions on your behalf.
By comparison, default workplace pension funds used for automatic enrolment are capped at 0.75% a year. This means moving your pension to a consolidation platform does not automatically mean you’ll pay lower fees.
Always compare the total ongoing charges before moving your money. If you aren’t able find these figures from your annual statement or via an online portal, contact your scheme administrator or pension provider directly.
- Find out more: do you know where your pension is invested?
Do tracing services work?
We spoke to three people who have used tracing services to understand how the process works in practice.
Convenience and consolidation
Penny has a live chat, which really helped, because I wasn’t too sure of the lingo some pension firms were using. The chat feature helped get to grips with things.
Lydia's first pot was found after three months, and this was transferred to Penny simply through an online form. Overall, the process took several months and required some manual effort for more complex transfers, but Penny found six lost pots in total.
Checking for valuable benefits
It was a straightforward process, and it was only a minimum number of steps you had to take to get the maximum amount out of it.
Fiona used Aviva’s Find and Combine service to track down six pensions accumulated from her career in startups. A major draw for her was the checking feature that identifies safeguarded benefits.
Within six weeks, Fiona received a report of her found pots. The dashboard detailed scheme names, values and a full breakdown of charges, including switching fees and penalties. It also revealed that two of her pensions were actually ‘hybrid’ schemes with valuable protected benefits of which she was unaware.
Following Aviva's guidance, Fiona consolidated her smaller pots into one manageable account but kept the hybrid schemes separate to preserve their benefits.
Tracing doesn’t always uncover a pension
I'm a long-term user of AJ Bell. The [pension tracing] service did the job, and I was impressed with how well it worked.
Despite having limited information – only an old payslip and a rough timeframe – Rishi sought closure on whether a pot even existed. AJ Bell successfully traced his employment records but discovered that Rishi had opted out of the pension scheme at the time, meaning no funds were available to transfer.
Despite not finding a lost pension pot, he valued the closure and the fact that the firm managed to provide a definitive answer using very limited initial information.
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Should you consolidate your pension?
Moving your pensions isn't right for everyone. Before you switch, there are a few things you'll need to consider:
Pros
- Lower fees Putting your money in one place often means paying less in total charges, which leaves more for your future.
- Reduced risk of losing pensions You won’t risk forgetting about an old workplace pension or losing track of your savings when you change jobs.
- Improved investment oversight You get a clear ‘big picture’ view of your investments, making it easier to see if you’re on track for your goals.
- Access to flexible retirement options Newer pension plans may offer flexible withdrawal options not available in older schemes.
Cons
- Exit fees Some providers charge fees for transferring out, which can cancel out the benefits of consolidation.
- Loss of valuable benefits Defined benefits, such as guaranteed annuity rates or protected tax-free cash, can be lost when you move your pension pots.
- Loss of employer contributions Consolidating outside of a workplace scheme may result in losing employer-matched contributions.
Find out more: should I combine my pensions?
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