PPI research estimates more than three million lost UK pension pots averaging around £6,000

More than three million UK pension pots, with an average value of around £6,000, are estimated to be "lost", according to research by the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) supported by the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS)¹. The figures were published on 12 October 2026, ahead of National Pensions Tracing Day on October 25¹.

A lost pension was defined in the research as one where the provider is unable to contact the owner of the pot, with pension providers approached for information used to compile the research¹. Around 2.5 million lost pots are thought to be held by people aged under 55¹.

The research gives different averages by age and sex¹:

Dr Suzy Morrissey, deputy director of the Pensions Policy Institute, said:

Oliver Morley, chief executive of the Money and Pensions Service, said around 2.5 million lost pensions belong to people aged under 55, and that the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard being developed by MaPS, expected to launch in financial year 2027-28, "will help tackle this problem"¹. He said a dashboard will show pensions people may have lost touch with, as well as giving a single overview of pensions in one place¹.

Tom Selby, public policy director at AJ Bell, said automatic enrolment had ensured millions of employees build at least some pension savings, but that as people move jobs they often leave old workplace pensions behind and "over time it's easy to lose track of them"¹. He said customers using AJ Bell's own pension-finding tool have tracked down accounts worth an average of £18,500 when adding up the combined value of pots found by each individual customer, "while some have used the service to find and combine pots worth over £1 million"¹.

Why it matters for households

A lost pot is one the provider cannot link to its owner, so the money sits unclaimed until the saver traces it¹. The average of around £6,000 is an average, meaning many people hold larger forgotten sums, and the average for pots held by people aged 55 to 74 is around double that for under-55s¹. The under-55 group accounts for around 2.5 million of the estimated three million-plus lost pots¹.

Tracing a pension does not by itself change its value or its terms. Selby said combining pensions "isn't necessarily the right move for everyone", that savers should take into account charges, choice, flexibility and service, and that some older-style pensions carry valuable guarantees that would be lost on transfer¹. He said the first step is to establish what pensions someone has and where they are invested¹.

The Pensions Policy Institute research was supported by MaPS, the government-backed service that runs MoneyHelper¹. Services such as the Pension Tracing Service and pension finding tools can already help reunite people with lost pots¹.

What happens next

National Pensions Tracing Day falls on October 25¹. The MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard being developed by MaPS is expected to launch in financial year 2027-28¹. No further dates have been reported.

Households wanting to check what they hold can read our guide to finding lost pensions and the Pension Tracing Service, and our pensions guide sets out how workplace and personal pots work. The pensions dashboards page explains what the MaPS dashboard is intended to do, and Pension Wise covers free guidance on pension options.