Roughly two and a half million pension pots are classified as lost, accounting for about 82% of losses and representing around £12.9 billion in retirement savings for people under 55.

A new Pensions Policy Institute survey estimates more than three million lost pension pots in the UK, totaling at least £18.7 billion, with the average pot worth £6,220.

Only 0.26% of lost pots belong to people over 75, yet this age group holds the highest share of lost pots relative to total holdings (13%), suggesting some pots were never crystallised beyond retirement.

The pensions dashboard, intended to consolidate state, workplace, and personal pensions, is seen as a key solution but has faced delays; providers are expected to be connected by the end of the current period, with daily reporting pushed to March 2027.

The PPI calls for better data to quantify the scale and value of lost defined benefit (DB) entitlements to inform policy.

The research coincides with National Pension Tracing Day (25 October) and efforts by MaPS to reconnect savers with their pensions.

Experts stress that even modest pot values add up to meaningful retirement impact; dashboards could boost engagement and help savers reconnect with their savings.

Pension tracing services, including the government-backed Pension Tracing Service and providers like Gretel, play a central role in helping individuals locate lost pensions without charges.

MaPS chief executive Oliver Morley highlights the dashboard’s potential and notes the MoneyHelper Pensions Dashboard, launching in 2027/28, as a tool to give a single view of pensions and flag ones that may have been lost touch with.

The findings rely on a new methodology and cover a broader segment of the pensions market, making direct comparisons with earlier estimates inappropriate.

Stakeholders underscore the urgency of reuniting people with missed pensions and view the dashboard as a vital, transformative tool for retirement planning.

Contributing factors to lost pensions include job moves, failing to update old addresses, mergers or acquisitions of pension providers, and changes in personal details over time.