What pension options do I have?
If you've saved into a defined contribution pension scheme during your working life, you need to decide what to do...
It's important to track down all the different pension schemes you've paid into, so you can be sure you're claiming everything you're entitled to in retirement.
If you're struggling to stay on top of the pension schemes you’ve paid into throughout your working career, the Pension Tracing Service on GOV.UK can help. This free service traces a pension you've lost track of, even if you don't have the contact details of the pension provider.
Before using the service, it's a good idea to collect as much information as you can, including:
The Pension Tracing Service will only tell you the contact details of the pension's administrator. You'll then need to contact the pension administrator to find out whether you have a pension with them. If you do, you can then ask the administrator its value and ask for it to be paid out.
Find your old pensions with the Pension Tracing Service on GOV.UK
Another service available to you is Gretel. Gretel launched in April 2022 – it's completely free and can help you find all types of financial assets, including lost pensions.
As Gretel is so new, the financial institution that your pension is with may not be signed up to it yet, so Gretel might not be able to find it. However, new financial institutions are being added to the service all the time and Gretel will continue to search for your assets every 2 weeks. So if it doesn’t find your pension straight away, it may find it in the future.
We offer support through our free advice line on 0800 678 1602. Lines are open 8am-7pm, 365 days a year. We also have specialist advisers at over 120 local Age UKs.
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