Most people change jobs quite a few times in their working life, and it's possible that you could have pension benefits from previous employers that you may have lost touch with or have benefits that you are unaware of. The Department for Work and Pensions offer a free of charge Pensions Tracing Service which helps to trace any lost or forgotten pensions funds. You can access more information on this service by visiting the DWP website.

In order to trace any pension benefits you may have, you should try and find the following information before you visit the site:

• The full name and address of the employer who ran the occupational pension scheme you are trying to trace. Did the employer change names, or was it part of a larger group of companies?
• The type of pension scheme you belonged to. For example was it an occupational pension scheme, personal pension scheme or a group personal pension scheme?
• When did you belong to this pension scheme?

For an Occupational pension scheme

• Did the employer trade under a different name?
• What type of business did the employer run?
• Did the employer change address at any time?

For a Personal pension scheme

• What was the name of the personal pension scheme?
• What address was it run from?
• What was the name of the insurance company involved with the personal pension scheme?