How to Find Out What Pensions I Have

At Towerstone, we specialise in higher rate pension tax relief advice and have written this article for people unsure what pensions they hold. The purpose of this article is to explain how to identify pension providers and gather details, helping you make informed decisions.

From experience, this question usually comes from a moment of realisation rather than curiosity. Someone is thinking about retirement, changing jobs, dealing with divorce, or simply trying to get organised and suddenly it hits them. I have no idea how many pensions I actually have, where they are, or what they are worth. In my opinion, this is far more common than people admit, and it is nothing to be embarrassed about.

Modern working lives are messy. People move jobs, industries, and countries. Auto enrolment has created pensions people barely remember signing up to. Older schemes sit quietly in the background. From experience, it is very easy to lose track, and the longer it goes on, the harder it feels to untangle.

The good news is that finding out what pensions you have is absolutely possible, even if you think records are lost or employers no longer exist. It takes time and method, not luck. In this guide I will walk you through how to find all your pensions in the UK, step by step, using practical approaches that actually work in real life.

Why people lose track of pensions

Before getting practical, it helps to understand why this happens so often. From experience, pensions go missing for a few predictable reasons.

Common causes include:

• Changing jobs frequently

• Auto enrolment pensions you never actively engaged with

• Employer mergers or closures

• Name changes after marriage or divorce

• Moving house without updating providers

• Old personal pensions taken out decades ago

In my opinion, pensions are uniquely easy to forget because they are designed to sit quietly in the background until later in life.

The first mindset shift you need

The most important thing I say to clients is this.

Do not start by assuming you only have one or two pensions. Start by assuming you have more than you remember.

From experience, people almost always uncover at least one pension they had completely forgotten about.

Step one: write down your employment history

This sounds basic, but it is the foundation of everything.

Start by writing down every employer you can remember, in roughly chronological order. Do not worry about exact dates at this stage.

Include:

• Full time jobs

• Part time jobs

• Temporary or contract roles

• Public sector roles

• Jobs you only stayed in briefly

From experience, even jobs that lasted a year or two often had pension schemes attached.

Step two: note what type of employer each was

Next to each employer, make a note of what type of organisation it was.

For example:

• Private company

• Local authority

• NHS

• School or university

• Government department

• Armed forces

This matters because public sector employers usually have large centralised pension schemes, while private sector pensions are often provider specific.

Step three: check current paperwork and emails

Before contacting anyone externally, check what you already have.

From experience, people are surprised how much information is already hiding in plain sight.

Look for:

• Old pension statements

• Annual benefit letters

• Emails from pension providers

• Online account logins

• Payslips showing pension deductions

Search your email inbox for words like pension, retirement, provider names, and old employer names.

In my opinion, this step alone often identifies half of the pensions.

Step four: contact current and recent employers

If you are still working or left an employer in the last few years, start there.

Ask HR or payroll:

• What pension scheme you were in

• The name of the pension provider

• Whether you still have benefits preserved

From experience, employers are used to these questions and usually respond quickly.

Step five: contact pension providers directly

If you know the provider name but not the details, contact them.

Most providers can trace your pension using:

• Your full name

• Date of birth

• National Insurance number

• Previous addresses

From experience, do not be put off if you do not have a policy number. Providers can often find records with basic personal information.

Step six: use the Pension Tracing Service

If you genuinely do not know where a pension is, the government provides a free service to help.

The Pension Tracing Service helps you find contact details for pension schemes linked to past employers.

Important points from experience:

• It does not tell you how much your pension is worth

• It does not contact providers for you

• It gives you the correct place to start

You search by employer name, not by your name.

In my opinion, this service is essential for older jobs or employers that no longer exist.

Step seven: trace public sector pensions separately

Public sector pensions are often easier to trace once you know where to look.

From experience:

• NHS roles link to the NHS Pension Scheme

• Teaching roles link to the Teachers’ Pension Scheme

• Civil service roles link to the Civil Service Pension Scheme

• Local authority roles link to the Local Government Pension Scheme

These schemes keep long term records, even if you left decades ago.

If you worked in the public sector, always contact the relevant scheme directly.

Step eight: check for old personal pensions

Personal pensions are often the most forgotten.

These may have been:

• Taken out by an adviser

• Set up through a bank or insurer

• Used to contract out of State Pension years ago

From experience, these are often small but still valuable, especially with inflation linking or guarantees.

Check:

• Old bank statements

• Adviser letters

• Insurance company correspondence

If you ever paid into a pension yourself, there is likely a personal pension somewhere.

Step nine: check if you were contracted out

This is particularly relevant if you worked before 2016.

If you were contracted out of the State Pension:

• You likely have pension benefits elsewhere

• These benefits may sit in workplace or personal pensions

From experience, people often discover pensions through this route that they never realised existed.

Step ten: keep a master pension list

As you find pensions, create a simple master list.

Include:

• Provider name

• Scheme name

• Policy or reference number

• Type of pension

• Current value if known

In my opinion, this document becomes one of the most valuable financial records you will ever have.

What if an employer no longer exists?

This is very common.

From experience:

• Pensions do not disappear when companies close

• Schemes are usually taken over by insurers or trustees

• Records still exist

The Pension Tracing Service is particularly helpful here.

Do not assume a pension is lost just because the employer is gone.

What if I changed my name?

Name changes can slow things down but rarely stop tracing completely.

Provide:

• Previous names

• Marriage or divorce dates if relevant

• National Insurance number

From experience, NI number is often the key that unlocks records.

How long does this process take?

This depends on how many pensions you have and how old they are.

From experience:

• Recent pensions can be identified in days

• Older pensions can take weeks

• Complex cases may take months

In my opinion, it is better to start early and be methodical rather than rush and miss things.

Should I consolidate my pensions once I find them?

This is a very common next question.

In my opinion, consolidation can be helpful, but only after you understand what each pension is.

From experience, some pensions:

• Have valuable guarantees

• Offer inflation linked income

• Should not be transferred lightly

Finding your pensions comes first. Decisions about moving them come later.

When professional help can be useful

From experience, professional help is worth considering if:

• You have many pensions

• You have public and private pensions mixed together

• You are approaching retirement

• You are unsure what type of pensions you have

A good adviser helps you understand what you have before suggesting changes.

Common mistakes I see all the time

From experience, the most common mistakes include:

• Assuming small pensions are not worth finding

• Ignoring pensions from short jobs

• Forgetting about contracted out pensions

• Consolidating before understanding guarantees

• Giving up when responses are slow

In my opinion, patience is the most important skill in pension tracing.

The emotional side of pension discovery

I want to acknowledge something important.

People often feel anxious when doing this exercise. There is fear of bad news, disappointment, or regret for not paying attention earlier.

From experience, the opposite is usually true. People feel relief once they know where everything is, even if the amounts are smaller than hoped.

Clarity reduces stress.

Practical summary from experience

To find out what pensions you have:

• List every employer you can remember

• Check your paperwork and emails

• Contact employers and providers

• Use the Pension Tracing Service

• Contact public sector schemes directly

• Build a master list as you go

It is not complicated, but it does require persistence.

Key Takeaways

From experience, almost everyone underestimates how many pensions they have and overestimates how difficult they are to find.

Pensions are designed to last decades, and the systems that track them are more robust than people realise. With the right approach, even pensions from the 1980s and 1990s can usually be traced.

In my opinion, finding out what pensions you have is one of the most empowering financial exercises you can do. It turns vague worry into concrete knowledge and gives you the foundation for every retirement decision that follows.

If there is one takeaway, it is this. Start now, take it step by step, and do not assume anything is lost until you have checked properly.

If you would like to explore related pension guidance, you may find how to opt out of a nest pension and how to opt out of the nhs pension useful. For broader pension guidance, visit our pensions knowledge hub.