AJ Bell has launched a free online pension-finding tool to help consumers track down lost pension pots.
Doubt that the government’s much-delayed pensions dashboard will ever be made public is behind the product, it added.
The wealth platform said billions of pounds are held in “lost pension pots” with people changing names, jobs or addresses and providers being taken over making it difficult to keep track.
AJ Bell said its tool uses a UK National Insurance number and basic employment details to find lost pots, the company responsible for the pension today and how much is invested.
Individuals just need to visit www.ajbell.co.uk/find-my-pension or google ‘AJ Bell find my pension’ to use the service.
Kevin Doran, managing director at AJ Bell said: “Our pension finding tool addresses a multi-billion-pound pension problem.
“Consolidating old pensions into a modern platform account can help you dramatically reduce charges, give you access to a choice of shares, funds or ready-made investment solutions, and allow you to manage your account online or by phone.”
Calculations by the platform show that a £100,000 pension pot switched from a product with total charges of 1.5% to a platform where charges total 0.75% (for custody and funds combined) could be worth £11,000 more in ten years’ time:
Bell said while the government-led pension dashboard project promised to deliver an online service allowing consumers to view all of their pensions in one place, its latest postponement raises doubts about whether it will ever be available.