You need to know the name of your pension provider(s) before you can find their contact details.
Use Gretel a free service to trace lost pensions, accounts and investments.
You can use the pension tracing service (see below) to find contact details to search for a lost pension.
Check old paperwork for details of your pension scheme, including the provider or administrator. Most pension schemes will send you a statement every year.
Contact your previous employers or ask old colleagues for the pension provider’s name.
If your old employer has ceased trading, see if it appears on the Pension Protection Fund’s list of schemes they look after – this means it’s been transferred to them to run instead.
The Pension Tracing Service can find contact details for:
- your own workplace or personal pension scheme
- someone else’s scheme if you have their permission
This service will not tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is.
You need the name of an employer or a pension provider to use this service.
You can also request contact details from the Pension Tracing Service by phone on 0800 731 0175 or by post at
The Pension Service
Post Handling Site A
Wolverhampton
WV98 1AF
United Kingdom
Contact the pension provider for details of your pension
Your pension provider will need as much information as possible in order to match you to a pension. They might ask for:
- your National Insurance Number
- previous names and addresses
- the dates you worked for the company
- when you think the pension was set up.
If the pension provider finds a record for you, check they have your correct contact details. This means they can send you annual statements and other important information, like whether you’re paying any fees.
For more information on what to do with any pension you’ve found, including the pros and cons of bringing your pensions together, see our guide How to increase your pension savings.
How to find details of past employers
If you cannot remember past employer details you could fill out a Data Protection Subject Access Request from HM Revenue & Customs. See https://www.gov.uk/guidance/hmrc-subject-access-request.
This form requests your personal information, including your name, National Insurance number, current and previous addresses. The form also requires the start and end dates for the employment information you request, as most requests are for a five- or ten-year period. There usually is no fee to conduct this process.
You can also request the information by phone or in writing. After filling this form, you generally receive the information you requested within one to two months. If you request a full report, you may receive your work history plus a record of your earnings, tax payments, contributions paid to National Insurance, benefits received and a record of your communications with the office.
You can sign in to or set up a personal tax account to check your personal information for the current year and the last 5 years without making a SAR.