Pension Tracing Service UK: how it works and what to do next
This guide explains how to use the service, what it can and cannot tell you, how to avoid the paid lookalike sites, and what to do once you have found a pension, including when you are tracing on behalf of someone who has died.
What is the Pension Tracing Service?
The Pension Tracing Service is a free government service that finds contact details for lost or forgotten pension schemes. The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) runs the service, and it uses The Pensions Regulator's database of workplace and personal pension schemes.
The service does one thing: it gives you a contact address or phone number for a pension scheme. Finding the contact is only the first step. Whether you have a pension with that scheme, and what the pension might be worth, is something only the scheme itself can tell you.
Two groups use the service most. The first is people approaching retirement who have worked for several employers and lost track of earlier workplace pensions. The average person in the UK has around 11 jobs during their working life, which can mean 11 separate pension arrangements. The second is executors and families dealing with a deceased person's estate, because pensions are often the largest financial asset a person holds and do not always appear in bank statements or correspondence.
How do I use the Pension Tracing Service on GOV.UK?
Go to gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details and search using either the name of the employer (for a workplace pension) or the name of the pension provider (for a personal pension). The service searches its database and shows the scheme's contact details immediately online.
The database covers more than 320,000 workplace and personal pension schemes. It includes both current and defunct employer names, matching an old employer name to the scheme that now holds the records.
If you cannot use the online service, phone the Pension Tracing Service on 0800 731 0175, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm.
Once you have the contact details, write to or phone the scheme directly, identify yourself (or your authority as executor), and ask whether a pension exists for the person concerned. The scheme then carries out its own checks and responds.
Is the government pension tracing service free?
Yes. The government pension tracing service is completely free, both online at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details and by phone on 0800 731 0175.
Be careful when searching for it. A private company called Pension Tracing Service (pensiontracingservice.com) appears in search results and charges for a service the government provides free. The private company is not connected to the government. If a website asks for payment, or for extensive personal and financial details before it will search, you are not on the government service. The genuine service is on a gov.uk address and never charges.
What does the Pension Tracing Service tell you?
The Pension Tracing Service gives you contact details for a pension scheme, and nothing more. Knowing exactly where the line sits saves wasted time.
The service does:
Search a database of more than 320,000 workplace and personal pension schemes
Provide contact details (address or phone number) for the scheme administrator
Cover both current and defunct employer names, matching them to the scheme that holds the records
The service does not:
Confirm whether you or the deceased actually had a pension with a given scheme
Tell you the value of any pension
Contact the scheme on your behalf
Cover the State Pension (handled separately by HMRC and DWP)
Cover most public sector pension schemes directly (see the list below)
What do you need before you search?
For a workplace pension, you need the employer's name; for a personal pension, the provider's name is usually enough. The more detail you have, the easier the follow-up with the scheme.
For a workplace pension, it helps to know:
The employer's full name, and any names the business traded under previously
Approximate dates of employment
Any old payslips, P60s or pension correspondence, if available
For a personal pension, old bank statements showing regular payments to an insurance company or pension provider can be a useful prompt.
If you are searching on behalf of a deceased person, have the date of death to hand. You will also need to show authority to make enquiries, which usually means a copy of the grant of probate or letters of administration once obtained, though some schemes will acknowledge a search request before the grant is in hand. Our guide on how to apply for probate explains how to obtain the grant.
How do you trace a public sector pension?
Contact the public sector scheme directly, because the Pension Tracing Service does not handle most public sector schemes. You typically need to know which employer the person worked for. The scheme administrator can then confirm whether a pension exists and explain how to claim it.
NHS pension: NHS Business Services Authority at nhsbsa.nhs.uk/nhs-pensions
Teachers' pension: Teachers' Pensions at teacherspensions.co.uk
Civil Service pension: Capita at civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk (administration transferred from MyCSP to Capita in December 2025)
Armed forces pension: Veterans UK at gov.uk/government/organisations/veterans-uk
Local government pension: the relevant local authority pension fund (86 administering authorities manage 87 funds in England and Wales)
Police and fire pensions: the relevant force's pension administrator
Does the Pension Tracing Service cover the State Pension?
No. The State Pension is handled separately by HMRC and DWP, and the Pension Tracing Service does not cover it.
The State Pension does not pass to a spouse or beneficiary as an inherited asset in the conventional sense, though in limited circumstances a surviving spouse may be able to claim additional State Pension based on the deceased's National Insurance record. To find out what State Pension the deceased was receiving or entitled to, contact DWP directly, or use Tell Us Once when registering the death, which notifies DWP automatically.
What happens after you find a pension?
Once the scheme confirms a pension exists, what happens next depends on whether the pension was in payment or not yet drawn. Our guide on what happens to a pension when someone dies covers the process in full; the short version is below.
If the pension was in payment: payments stop at death. Any overpayments made since the date of death may need to be returned. Any balance or continuing benefits depend on the scheme rules and whether a spouse's or dependant's pension applies. If you have lost a husband, wife or civil partner, our guide on the widows pension explains what a surviving partner can claim.
If the pension had not yet been drawn: for defined contribution schemes, most are discretionary, meaning the trustees choose who receives the pension pot. Because of that discretion, the pot currently sits outside the estate for inheritance tax purposes and does not pass under the will or intestacy rules. As of August 2026, the rules are due to change: from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds will become subject to inheritance tax. The funds will still not pass through probate, but personal representatives will be responsible for reporting and paying any inheritance tax due, and will be able to direct pension administrators to withhold funds to meet the liability. Our guide on defined contribution pensions and inheritance tax explains the April 2027 change for executors and beneficiaries. For defined benefit schemes, the rules vary and the scheme administrator will explain the options.
Nominated beneficiaries: most pension schemes let members nominate a beneficiary on an expression of wish form. Trustees are not legally bound to follow the nomination, because most schemes are discretionary, but they usually do. The pension is paid directly to the nominated person, outside the estate and without probate. If no nomination was made, or the nomination is out of date, the trustees decide who receives the benefit.
Tracing pensions as part of estate administration
Pensions are one of the most commonly overlooked assets in estate administration. They often sit outside the estate entirely when a beneficiary nomination is in place, and people change jobs and lose track of old schemes.
The free Pension Tracing Service is one of several tools an executor needs for a thorough search:
The Pension Tracing Service for every employer the deceased worked for
An NS&I bereavement claim for Premium Bonds and savings
My Lost Account for dormant bank and building society accounts
The Association of British Insurers (ABI) at abi.org.uk for lost life insurance policies
None of these services are connected. Each requires separate contact.
Frequently asked questions
The Pension Tracing Service phone number is 0800 731 0175, open Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. The phone line is free, like the online service. Searching online at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details is faster, because results appear immediately rather than by post or callback.
No. Pensiontracingservice.com is a private company that charges for pension tracing. The government's pension tracing service is free and sits on an official gov.uk address at gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details. If a tracing website asks for payment, it is not the government service.
No. The Pension Tracing Service only provides contact details for the scheme administrator. To find out whether a pension exists and what it is worth, you contact the scheme directly with the person's details, and the scheme carries out its own checks before responding.
Yes. Executors and administrators can use the Pension Tracing Service to search by any employer the deceased worked for. Have the date of death ready, and expect the scheme to ask for proof of your authority, usually the grant of probate or letters of administration, before releasing information.
The online search returns contact details immediately. The longer part is the follow-up: once you write to or phone the scheme, the scheme must check its own records before confirming whether a pension exists, and response times vary from scheme to scheme.
No. The Pension Tracing Service searches by employer or pension provider name, not by National Insurance number. Once you contact the scheme itself, having the person's National Insurance number, dates of employment and old paperwork such as payslips or P60s will help the scheme match its records.
This article is for general information only and does not constitute legal advice. Individual circumstances vary. If you are dealing with an estate, consider taking advice from a solicitor who specialises in probate. For other guidance specific to your circumstances, speak to a funeral director, Citizens Advice, or a regulated financial adviser.