It is the perfect time to sort out your pension

Pensions are confusing and mistakes are costly. It’s easy to lose track of the money and it could go to the wrong people when you are gone.

This checklist should help.

SORT OUT OLD PENSIONS

There are an estimated 1.6 million lost pension pots in the UK, worth £13,000 each on average.That is hardly surprising given that people switch jobs on average 11 times during their careers, said Laura Suter, head of personal finance at AJ Bell.

If concerned, dig out old paperwork to check its value. “If you can’t find any documents, use the free Pension Tracing Service at gov.uk to find where it is now.”

CONSIDER CONSOLIDATION

Once you have tracked down your lost pensions it might be a good idea to consolidate them, said Helen

Morrissey, senior pensions and retirement analyst at Hargreaves Lansdown. “It is easier to keep track of one or two larger pots than several smaller ones.”

Before consolidating, make sure you are not giving up valuable benefits such as guaranteed annuity rates or will incur large exit fees.Take advice if necessary.

UPDATE YOUR EXPRESSION OF WISH FORM

You may have indicated who you wanted to receive your death benefits when you took out a pension by completing an expression of wish form.This may now be out of date, Morrissey warned. “If you have divorced, separated or started a new relationship, the person named on the forms may not be the person you want to benefit.”