Just one in 25 people instinctively think to tell their pension provider when they are moving house, new research from the Association of British Insurers (ABI) has revealed.

Furthermore, even when prompted, just half of people thought contacting their pension provider was a high priority, whereas banks and utility providers were ranked as the highest.

The survey, undertaken to help produce guidance for insurance and pension providers that aims to help identify, track down, verify and reconnect people with lost savings, showed that while notifying a bank is viewed as essential when moving to a new house, pensions providers are often forgotten.

Meanwhile, 89 per cent of respondents considered telling their GP or dentist about a change of address as a priority.

The firm emphasised that where insurers are trying to reunite people with lost pensions and investments, this is usually done by sending a letter to their new address, highlighting the importance of ensuring this is up-to-date and accurate information.

The association now has urged savers to take advantage of time in lockdown to ensure their address details are correct, with a guide on its website to help track pension policies, as well as tips on responding to tracing letters.

Commenting on the findings, ABI director of policy, long-term savings and protection, Dr Yvonne Braun, added: “During the lockdown many of us have been focusing on those jobs that never get done, so now is the perfect opportunity to check all your financial information is up to date with the correct address.

“Long-term savings providers will continue to work hard to reunite people with their lost money. People deserve all the cash they are entitled to.

“To ensure more people than ever are reconnected we will continue to work with government to explore ways data can be used to verify customer addresses.”

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