old company pensions

[nannybooby]

has anyone tracked down old pensions from way back in the day when you couldnt carry them over to your next job. I read an article yesterday saying we shouuld track them down .....has anyone done it was it worth it?

In the dys o m youth I worked fot big weel known companies and had to pay into schemes and thought it might be worth trying.

[nannybooby]

sorry I put this in the wrong catergory.

[factor-fiction]

No but i have heard programmes on Radio 4 where people have. Just Google Pension Tracing Service, but make sure you use the official government site not a private firm who'll ask for fees

[Flyhalf]

It's always worth trying, so long as you can give the trustees enough information about dates of employment, and your full name (maiden name if applicable).
If the annual pension turns out to be rather small, you will most likely be offered a lump sum instead.

[factor-fiction]

You should have been receiving some paperwork though- some sort of annual statement.

[nannybooby]

factor , I am talking about when I left school and upto about 25 years old , I have moved ,married etc in the mean time so doubt if they could find me if they wanted to. In that 10/11 years I worked for Libbys,Midland Bank ,NCB, and Hestair it might all be hot air and I am due nothing.

[Old_Geezer]

As I recall I still get the occassional glossy page sent to me from each of mine. But I really ought to take more interest in it since I'll need them in the not so distant future, if I'm still around. Must be in your own interest to ensure they know your latest address and so forth.

[factor-fiction]

If you didn't keep any of the papers or notify them of address changes then it's going to be more difficult and that's where the pension tracing service I mentioned earlier is useful.

[factor-fiction]

If you know the companies of course, you could contact them directly. Some have changed hands but are still contactable. Others like the National Coal Board may no longer exist (maybe they do, I haven't heard of them for a while) but If you Google National Coal Board Pensions I'm sure you'll get some contact details.
It's definitely worth trying and it's better to get everything sorted before you retire as it may take many months to sort things out. Good luck