The scale of the UK’s lost pensions mountain is exposed by research carried out on behalf of the ABI. In the largest study yet on the subject, the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) surveyed firms representing about 50% of the private defined contribution pensions market. From this PPI found 800,000 lost pensions worth an estimated £9.7 billion. It estimates that, if scaled up to the whole market, there are collectively around 1.6 million pots worth £19.4 billion unclaimed – the equivalent of nearly £13,000 per pot.

This figure is likely to be even higher as the research did not look into lost pensions held in the public sector, or with trust-based schemes typically run by employers.

A copy of the PPI's report can be found here.

This estimated figure of £19.4bn is significantly higher than the previous estimate of £400million, the truth is nobody knows the total value - this is concerning in itself. What is known is that the figure is vast. Vestigium Services believe that much of these finances can find their way back to their beneficial owners by employing a caring and concerted effort. If you are looking for your policy holders, please feel free to get in touch with us via info@vestigium-services.com for more information.