When you’re a single parent, time and headspace are both in short supply. Between juggling work, home and parenting, it can be hard to find an uninterrupted moment for anything, let alone digging through old paperwork to track down pensions from jobs you left years ago.

But here’s the thing: if you’ve worked more than one job during your career, there’s a good chance you’ve got multiple pension pots dotted around and some of them might be worth more than you think.

Finding and consolidating old pensions can be one of the most effective ways to make your finances easier to manage, save on fees and keep your retirement on track, without having to keep tabs on five different providers and a folder of half-forgotten statements. (Plus it will leave you feeling incredibly proud of yourself.)

In this guide, we’ll walk you through:

• Why tracking down your old pensions matters.
  
  
• How to find them (even if you’ve lost all the paperwork).
  
  
• How consolidation works and what to consider before taking the plunge.

Why bother finding your old pensions?

It’s easy to think, I’ll deal with that later, but this could be a huge mistake. According to PensionBee’s research, millions of people in the UK have lost track of at least one pension and the value of those forgotten pots could add up to thousands of pounds towards your future. PensionBee estimates that the impact of losing a £10k pension pot at age 30 could be £23.5k by retirement age.

When you have several pensions, each might be charging separate fees, and you might not be getting the most suitable investment option for you. Keeping them in one place could make it easier to:

• See your total retirement savings at a glance, so no more piecing together five different annual statements.
  
  
• Save money on fees if your new plan offers lower charges.
  
  
• Simplify your admin with one provider, one login, one statement a year.
  
  

For single parents, there’s another big benefit: mental bandwidth. Life already comes with enough spinning plates so if there’s a way to reduce paperwork and stress, it’s worth considering.

Step 1: Gather the basics

Start with what you know. Write down every job you’ve had where you might have been enrolled in a workplace pension, even if it was only for a short time. If you still have old payslips, P45s or pension statements, dig them out. Even partial details (like your old employer’s name) can be useful.

If you’re not sure whether a past job included a pension, check out PensionBee’s guide to what happens to your pension when you leave a company. Many people assume that if they worked somewhere briefly, they wouldn’t have been enrolled, but Auto-Enrolment means you may have a pot you didn’t even realise existed.

Step 2: Use the Pension Tracing Service

If you’ve lost track of a pension provider, the Pension Tracing Service (a free government tool) can help. All you’ll need is your past employer’s name and location and the service will tell you who to contact to check if you have an account with them.

Once you have the pension provider’s name, you can request a pension statement to see how much is in the pot, what it’s invested in and what fees you’re paying.

PensionBee has a step-by-step guide on finding a missing pension, which breaks it down so it’s far less daunting.

Step 3: Decide whether to consolidate

Once you’ve tracked down all your old pensions, the next step is to decide whether or not it’s worth combining them. Pension consolidation means transferring all (or some) of your pensions into one single plan.

Consolidating your pensions can be a game-changer for busy single parents. It means fewer logins, and a clearer idea of how much you’ve actually saved and what you may have in retirement. With PensionBee, you can see your total balance in seconds online or via their app, rather than waiting for an annual statement once a year. 

But consolidation isn’t just about convenience. It can sometimes save you money if you’re currently paying multiple sets of fees on different pension pots. On the other hand, some older pensions come with valuable benefits, like guaranteed annuity rates, that you could lose by moving them, so it’s worth checking the fine print before making a decision.

PensionBee’s guide on whether you should consolidate your pensions is a good place to start. You might also want to speak to a regulated independent financial adviser if you’re unsure, especially if any of your pensions are defined benefit (final salary) schemes.

Step 4: Make the switch

If you decide consolidation is right for you, the process is usually simpler than people expect. Many providers (including PensionBee) will do the heavy lifting for you, contacting your old pension companies and arranging the transfers. You’ll just need to provide the details of each old pension and confirm you’re happy to proceed.

Step 5: Stay engaged and review regularly

Once you’ve got your pensions sorted, the key is staying engaged. Too often, pensions are ‘out of sight, out of mind’ until retirement is just around the corner, but the more you check in on your savings, the more empowered you’ll feel about your financial future and potentially the bigger your pension pot could end up becoming.

A modern pension provider like PensionBee offers an app so you can see your balance, check your contributions and even project your future retirement income in real time. You can also easily update your details, which is especially important if you move house as this is one of the main reasons pensions go missing in the first place.

It’s also worth setting a reminder to review your pension at least once a year. This could be as simple as adding it to your phone calendar in January, or tying it to a life event like your child’s birthday, so it becomes part of your routine. The goal isn’t to micromanage your investments, but to keep your pension connected to your real life - something you can actually see and understand, not just a number in a file you never open.

A single parent perspective: why this matters now, not later

When you’re raising children on your own, future planning can easily slip to the bottom of the to-do list. But pensions aren’t just about one day, they’re about giving your future self stability, and giving your children the reassurance that you’ll be okay financially when you stop working.

Even if retirement feels far away, making small moves now (like tracking down old pensions) can mean big differences later. Plus, once your pensions are in one place, checking in on them each year becomes far quicker, freeing up your time for the million other things on your plate.

Where to start today

1. Make a quick list of every job you’ve had where a pension might have been involved.
2. Use the government’s free Pension Tracing Service to track down any missing ones.
3. Compare fees and benefits before deciding whether to consolidate.
4. Combine old pension pots into one easy-to-manage online plan to make retirement planning simpler.
   
   

And if you want a single, simple way to manage your retirement savings, take a look at consolidating your pensions with PensionBee.

Because yes, you’re busy, but your future self will thank you for ticking this one off the list.

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Risk warning

As always with investments, your capital is at risk. The value of your investment can go down as well as up, and you may get back less than you invest. This information should not be regarded as financial advice.

About PensionBee

PensionBee can help you combine your old pension pots into one easy-to-manage online plan that lets you keep track of your balance, make flexible contributions, invest in line with your values and make withdrawals from the age of 55 (rising to 57 from 2028). For more information, visit PensionBee.

Learn how long your pension could last with the PensionBee Pension Calculator.

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