Scottish Widows launches pension tracing tool as lost pots top £31bn
Scottish Widows has launched a pension tracing service within its app to help customers locate lost retirement savings and consolidate pension pots from previous employers.
Scottish Widows has introduced a new pension tracing tool within its app designed to help customers find lost pension pots from former employers and, where appropriate, consolidate them into a single plan.
The launch comes as the provider revealed its app has surpassed one million registrations since its introduction. Following a redesign in 2024, the platform has facilitated more than £1.2bn of in-app pension consolidations.
The move addresses a growing challenge across the UK pensions market. An estimated 3.3 million pension pots are currently considered lost, with a combined value of £31.1bn. Scottish Widows noted that the average worker changes employer around 12 times during their career, creating multiple pension arrangements that can become difficult to track.
Developed in partnership with fintech firm The Pension Lab, the new tracing service allows customers to search for missing pension savings through a digital process within the app. Users enter their National Insurance number and can also provide details of previous employers, pension providers and dates of employment to improve the accuracy of searches. A digital letter of authority then enables The Pension Lab to contact pension providers on the customer’s behalf.
Alongside the new service, Scottish Widows has launched a game called ‘Ace the Trace’, aimed at encouraging greater engagement with retirement planning. The game forms part of the firm’s wider strategy to make pensions and financial products easier to understand and more accessible to younger audiences.
Chira Barua, chief executive of Scottish Widows, said: “Too many people are going into later life without a clear picture of what they have saved, simply because their pensions are scattered across different jobs and providers. With millions of pots sitting unclaimed across the UK, helping people reconnect with their savings is an important first step in improving retirement outcomes.
“We’ve made pension tracing simple and accessible, to make bringing pensions together in one place as easy as possible so that people can properly understand their future finances and take control of them.
“Reaching one million app users is a clear signal that customers want straightforward, digital ways to manage their money, and we’re continuing to invest in digital and AI tools that remove friction and make pensions easier to engage with. By combining innovation with practical support, we’re helping more people turn good intentions into meaningful action.”
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