Retirement news

Neglected pensions promote identity theft

13 March, 2007

One major concern is that a third of UK employees fail to tell their pension provider when they move address, in fact the population is far more likely to inform their dentist or the TV Licensing Authority of the move instead.

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Since 1996, some 36 per cent of people paying into a private sector pension have moved but not passed their new details onto their provider. This increases the risk of losing touch with their provider and never claiming their pension, but they are taking an even worse gamble without realising as they risk their pension details falling into the wrong hands.

Two thirds of people surveyed by Aon Consulting had moved house in the past ten years, more than a quarter upping sticks for a new home in the last two. This all paints a worrying picture as the more times an adult moves house, the more post they have trailing after them from various different addresses.

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Despite that fact that pensions are one of the population’s most valuable assets for later life, they were only ranked seventh out of ten when it came to prioritising companies to notify. Banks came in top, employers second and utility companies third.

Younger generations are the worst, possibly because they have built up less of a fund than older generations, for whom drawing a pension is much more of a reality.

Paul Macro, head of defined contribution at Aon Consulting, says: “We have already seen that people are refusing to take responsibility for their own retirement by relying on others to support them. People simply cannot afford to lose pensions that they are entitled to or risk pension details getting into the wrong hands.

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“What is most alarming, is the survey shows that even some people near their retirement age are not keeping contact with their pension provider as top priority. No matter what a person’s age, pensions should be up there on the list of priorities with employers and banks, not in the same bracket as motoring organisations and magazine subscriptions.”