Almost a quarter (24 per cent) of people in the UK have three or more pensions, a study conducted by Opinium on behalf of Hargreaves Lansdown (HL) has found.

Around one in three (32 per cent) had two pensions, while 4 per cent of people did not know how many pensions they had.

HL warned that those who do not track down their pensions risked missing out on thousands of pounds in retirement income.

The firm highlighted research from the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI), which found there were more than 3.3 million lost pension pots in the system.

Calculations from HL showed that someone with a £60,000 pension at the age of 55 would be on track to accumulate a pension pot worth £125,000 by the age of 67.

However, if they were to find a lost pension of £14,000, with the average size of a lost pension pot being £13,620 among 55-75 year olds according to the PPI, and consolidate this with their existing pension, they would have a pension worth £144,000 by 67.

These calculations were based on a 55 year old earning £35,000 a year contributing at auto-enrolment minimums, with investment returns of 5 per cent after fees.

“If your New Year’s resolution is to get financially fit, it’s worth paying some attention to your pensions,” said HL head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey.

“Many of us are juggling multiple retirement pots and there’s a real risk we could lose track of one or more and leave ourselves worse off in retirement.

“It’s easily done. If you don’t keep your contact details updated whenever you move house there’s a chance you could lose track of a pension from a previous employer.

“Once you’ve got your pensions together, it might make sense to consolidate them. Having an overarching view of what you have can make a big difference to your retirement planning, because people tend to view one larger pot in a different way to several smaller ones, which they might be tempted to take as cash and spend.

“However, it's important to check the fine print before you decide to consolidate. Make sure you aren’t leaving yourself open to expensive exit fees by consolidating or missing out on important benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates. It also rarely makes sense to transfer a final salary pension.”

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