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How to find and combine your old pensions
- 23 Aug 2023
The easiest way to track down your old pots is via Penfold’s Find My Pension service. Here’s how it works.
Simply give Penfold the name of your old employer, roughly how much you think you have saved and they’ll hunt down the contact details of your old pension provider for you.
Then, it’s just a case of getting in touch with them to confirm your policy number
If you aren’t a Penfold saver, you’ll need to do a bit of digging.
To track down your old workplace pensions, you’ll need three key bits of information:
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The name of your old employer
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The name of your old pension provider
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Your pension policy reference number
If you don’t already know, your first challenge is finding out which pension provider your old company(s) used.
You can find this information by digging out any old communications about your pension.
Check your emails and paper records for any welcome packs, annual statements or fund overviews. Make a note of the name of the pension provider each employer used.
Next, you’ll need to find your pension policy number.
This is a unique 16 digit string of letters and numbers used by your provider to identify your individual pension. You may also see this referred to as a ‘pension number’ or ‘customer reference number’.
Again, your best bet is to check your emails and paper records.
How to combine old pensions
Ready to combine? Before you do, there are some very important things you need to consider. You can find them here.
But if you’ve found your old pensions and want to bring them all together, your next step is to transfer them into one, easy to manage plan.
Before you can start a pension transfer, you’ll need four bits of information to hand:
1: Where is your pension going?
You’ll need to decide which pension provider you’d like to combine your pensions into. Many providers, like Penfold, let you open a new plan with a pension transfer.
2: Where is your pension right now?
You’ll need the name of your old pension provider you’re transferring from as well as your pension policy number or reference number. Check out our video on finding pensions for more on that.
3: How much are you transferring?
You’ll need to let your new provider know how much is your pot. Don’t worry too much if you aren’t completely sure - this can be an estimate.
4: Are there any fees?
Some providers will charge you an “exit fee” for moving your pension out, or a setup fee for transferring in.
This is normally a percentage of your total savings so it’s worth taking into account before making a decision.
Once you have all your details, the process of transferring your pension is fairly straightforward.
Simply send your pension details to your new provider and ask them to start the transfer.
Transferring with Penfold
Penfold make transferring pensions a piece of cake.
Simply tell us your old details and we’ll take care of the rest - keeping you updated every step of the way.
Combine your old pots into a self-employed plan today.
It's important to compare providers’ fees & any guaranteed benefits when deciding on whether to transfer, and be sure that the investments available are suitable for you. We cannot accept defined benefit pension transfers.
If you decide to close your Penfold account and the value of your pot has gone down, the amount returned to the provider may be less than what you originally transferred.
Please know that if your employer is paying into your pension currently, transferring that pot may mean you lose out on their contribution.
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