| The UK is home to an estimated 3.3m unclaimed pension pots worth a combined £31.1bn | When pensions are scattered, it’s harder to see the bigger picture, leading to unbalanced portfolios | Some older schemes offer valuable benefits that you could lose if you transfer |
Do you know where all your pensions are? The UK is home to an estimated 3.3m unclaimed pension pots worth a combined £31.1bn1. That’s a huge amount of money being left unmanaged.
Losing track is easy: job changes resulting in multiple workplace pensions, investing through various platforms over time, or simply neglecting older pensions as life gets busy. Having multiple pensions often means paying more in charges. When pensions are scattered, it’s harder to see the bigger picture, leading to unbalanced portfolios.
Pensions first
Over a career, it’s common to build up several workplace pensions. Bringing these together can improve your investment options, allowing access to better funds or more tailored portfolios than older schemes may offer. Some schemes, especially older ones, may not offer features like pension drawdown or the ability to choose who inherits your pension while minimising the amount of tax you have to pay.
Take advice
That said, pension consolidation should be approached carefully. Some older schemes offer valuable benefits, such as guaranteed annuity rates, that you could lose if you transfer. Others may charge exit penalties that reduce the value of moving your money. Before consolidating, it’s important to check whether any of your pensions have these features and whether the benefits outweigh the drawbacks.
Consolidating at the wrong time, such as during a market downturn, can lock in losses if investments are sold to arrange a transfer.
What’s right for you
The aim isn’t just to tidy things up, but to do so in a way that strengthens your financial position. Everyone is different, so whether it’s right to consolidate could depend on a wide range of factors, including your age, goals, how long you want to keep your money invested, tax position and existing products. We can review your pensions and help you feel confident that your finances are organised for the future you want.
1PPI, 2024
It is important to take professional advice before making any decision relating to your personal finances. Information within this article is based on our current understanding and can be subject to change without notice and the accuracy and completeness of the information cannot be guaranteed. It does not provide individual tailored advice and is for guidance only. Some rules may vary in different parts of the UK.
