Keeping track of forgotten savings and pensions

At Enable we are always reminding people to pay attention to their pensions and savings. According to research commissioned by National Savings & Investments (NS&I) 7.6 million Britons have lost track of savings, while around £1.4 billion is stranded in small pension pots. Twenty-eight per cent have lost their account details while 27 per cent have opened several accounts and forgotten about some of them over time. Some have lost their account details following a house move, or know they have childhood accounts but do not have the full details.

Sixty per cent of those who believe they have lost track of savings accounts have tried to recover their money, with 72 per cent of them being successful. NS&I, in association with The British Bankers’ Association and the Building Societies Association, offers a free ‘MyLostAccount’ service to help savers track down their accounts. NS&I has helped customers to trace £450 million of savings through the service.

Many people have also lost track of their pension funds, according to the Pensions Advisory Service, which estimates that £1.4 billion is waiting to be claimed. The funds are in accounts worth less than £5,000 which workers have left behind when they move jobs.

The number of small pension pots is expected to soar after auto-enrolment starts in October. It is estimated that there will be 4.7 million additional small pension pots by 2050. However small your saving or pension pot may be experience IFA’s at Enable know it can be a useful contribution to your portfolio.