This Sunday 26 October is National Pension Tracing Day.
Figures from National Pension Tracing Day estimate that:
“There could be about 3.3 million lost or forgotten pension pots out there, worth an average of £9,500 each – over £31.1 billion in total.”
We also know that according to the Ministry of Defence’s Armed Forces Pension Scheme Annual Report 2024*, that nearly 15,000 Armed Forces Pensions remain unclaimed!
We have been campaiging on this for some time in the hope we can reunite more Veterans with their unclaimed, deferred pension benefits. In fact, our campaign has begun to show tangible results.
The latest AFPS Annual Report published in July, reveals a reduction in the number of Veterans’ unclaimed pensions. This year’s report records some 14,800 unclaimed pensions (17,100 in 2023), a 14% improvement. But, there is still much to do, and we won’t be satisfied until we reduce the outstanding number of unclaimed pensions substantially.
Here are some simple questions and links, for any Veteran who thinks they may be entitiled and don’t know where to begin:
Have you served and think you might have entitlements to an Armed Forces Pension? .
Do you know the rules around preserved/deferred pensions? For more click here.
If you’re eligible do you know who does what and how to claim? For more click here.
Our Chief Executive, Major General Neil Marshall OBE, has this message:
“We can all play our part in encouraging Veterans we know, to come forward if they have not claimed their preserved pensions or preserved lump sums. Many of these pensions involve significant sums of money which could make a serious contribution to the quality of many lives. AFPS pensions earned before April 2005 are payable at age 60 but will not be paid automatically – they have to be applied for. We urge you to encourage anyone who might be eligible, to contact Veterans UK without delay. For our part, the Forces Pension Society will maintain its focus on the issue until we see many more pensions in the hands of those who earned them.”
We hope this helps get you started on your ‘claiming journey’, and we encourage you our Members and followers to join our camapign, and share our message to help our Veterans receive the benefits they are entitled to. You might find this simple ‘call to action’ useful when sharing our message. Thank you!
Finally, if you or your family, and friends think they might have private or other workplace pensions and don’t know where to start looking, check out the National Pension Tracing Day website, which has simple step-by-step guides, success stories, helpful resources and warnings about common pitfalls.
What are you waiting for!
*At time of writing the 2025 report with updated figures has not yet been released.
