Just over a fifth (21 per cent) of British citizens do not know where their pension is held, with savers potentially "missing out" on thousands of pounds as a result, a survey from Hargreaves Lansdown has revealed.

The research found that 14 per cent were unsure where their pensions are held, while 65 per cent of people said they did know where their pensions are held.

Awareness varied between age groups, as 72 per cent of people aged over 55 reported knowing where their pensions were, compared to 64 per cent of people aged between 18 and 34.

Hargreaves Lansdown stressed the importance of savers keeping track of their pensions, stating that this is “vital” in building their retirement resilience.

Commenting on the figures, Hargreaves Lansdown head of retirement analysis, Helen Morrissey, said one in five people don’t know where their pensions are held and this can cause “chaos” for retirement planning.

Morrissey suggested that throughout their working lives, people are likely to build up pensions with different employers, which risks these pensions being forgotten when moving to a new job.

“However, over time, even the smallest pension will grow, so not tracking it down risks you missing out on thousands of pounds,” she added.

She pointed out that the research showed the older a person is, the more likely they are to know where their pensions are held.

However, Morrissey said that with the data showing 28 per cent of those over 55 "either sure they’ve lost track or are unable to say for certain, there’s still a lot of people potentially missing out".

In terms of tracking these pensions down, she explained that it is a “relatively straightforward process”, which includes checking paperwork or phoning the government’s Pension Tracing Service.

This article was originally published on our sister title, Pensions Age.

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