More than one in five people with multiple pensions have lost track of one or all of their pensions, Aegon has found.

Aegon’s research has revealed that while 62 per cent of people have multiple pension pots, over one in five (21 per cent) of this group haven’t kept track of one or all of them.

From this, the firm highlighted the development of a broader trend towards a career involving an average of 11 jobs and the difficulty of keeping hold of all savings as a result.

This trend has led to over 6.6 million people misplacing some of their retirement savings. Among a majority of people holding multiple pensions, two fifths (39 per cent) did not know the total value of their pensions.

Aegon’s research suggested that 67 per cent of people would be interested in the consolidation of their pots with one pension provider to prevent losing track. Although 30 per cent of people thought there were benefits of doing so, 43 per cent said they would need further information on the benefits.

Aegon head of pensions Kate Smith said: “Today people have diverse careers often involving multiple jobs with different companies. The introduction of auto-enrolment has also led to more than 7 million people saving into a pension and a big increase in total number of pension savers. As a result, a majority of people now have more than one pension but it’s a concern to find that 21 per cent of these people have lost track of some of their savings. It’s very hard to plan your retirement without a full view of your savings and it’s important everyone has a clear idea of how much their pension is worth and what their state pension entitlement is likely to be.”

Smith continued: “With so many people losing track of a pension it’s perhaps not surprising that 67 per cent of people are interested in consolidation even if they have to track down a pension first. There can be benefits to consolidation as many older-style pensions often have complex or more expensive charges. They are also unlikely to offer access to the new range of pension freedoms or give access online. However, it’s important people take time to understand the pros and cons of consolidation and are clear on whether it’s right for them. This is where professional financial advice will really add value.

“Looking to the future, the launch of a pension dashboard in 2019 should simplify the process of finding lost pensions, and has the additional bonus of seeing all your pensions, including the State pension, in one place. It should also make it simpler to consolidate in future, but people don’t have to wait until then to get their pensions in order. The Department of Work and Pensions (DWP) pension tracing service can already help people find lost or forgotten pensions they built up many years ago.”

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