Nearly one-in-three British pension savers are concerned they may have lost or forgotten about retirement pots they have built up in previous jobs, according to research by pension provider iSipp.
The firm found that around 40% of consumers have multiple pots due to switching employers, with 5.5 million people having at least three funds, and nearly a million with five or more pensions.
The provider said that by having multiple funds, savers are technically paying more in fees than they need to and are spending unnecessary time on administration when it comes to retirement.
But losing track of pension pots can have a significant impact on retirement as people miss out on the “value of pension saving”, iSipp said.
Around 28% of savers polled said they found it difficult to keep track of their savings, while only 40% said they always transfer or consolidate funds when they change jobs.
Consolidation
But the issue goes beyond losing one or more pensions, iSipp found.
Many retirees don’t even know what type of fund they have, which will be problematic in the future as it will impact the type of income they will receive once they stop working.
iSipp managing director Hrishi Kulkarni said: “It can be difficult to keep track of pensions when you move jobs, and the research makes it clear that millions of us fall into this category.
“Consolidating pensions gives clients better control and offers full oversight of pension fund performance enabling savers to make more informed decisions while also only having to deal with one pension provider on their retirement.”
