UK pension holders are being encouraged to trace their lost pension pots worth a total of £26.6 billion, with almost three million pensions not currently matched to their owner.
New data published by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) reveals that lost pension pots have increased by £7 billion in just four years.
The study carried out by the PPI shows savers across the UK are in danger of missing out on significant sums of cash as they have lost contact with their pension providers.
Since 2018, the value of lost pension pots in the UK has risen by 37%.
Over 2.8 million pension pots are considered lost, an increase of 75% over the last four years.
The estimated average value of lost pension pots sits at £9,470.
John Upton, Policy Analyst at the PPI, said: “While the problem of lost pots had been expected to worsen over time, the second iteration of the PPI Lost Pensions Survey has enabled the problem to be gauged more precisely.
“There has been significant growth in the value held by these pots, underlining the fact that this problem will continue to grow without intervention.
“One such intervention is pensions dashboards, about which the survey found cautious optimism among providers.
“Conducting this PPI Lost Pensions Survey immediately before the launch of dashboards will allow us to evaluate their impact with further iterations of the survey.”
Yvonne Braun, Director of Policy, Long‐Term Savings and Protection, at the ABI, said: “It’s time to pay your pension some attention and use the resources available to track down any lost pots.
“It only takes a short amount of time to check what money you have built up and keep your records up to date.”