How do I know if my old personal pensions are still working for me?

Old personal pensions are worth reviewing periodically because the circumstances under which they were set up — your income, retirement goals, attitude to risk, and the charges you accepted — may all have changed. A few areas are worth understanding when assessing whether a pension is still performing as intended.

Charges: Older personal pensions can carry higher annual charges than more recent plans. Even a small difference in the percentage taken each year compounds significantly over decades.

Investment choice: The funds available inside an older pension may be limited or no longer suited to where you are in life. A fund chosen at 25 may carry a very different risk profile to what makes sense at 45 or 55.

Death benefit nominations: Many people set up old pensions and never updated who they would like to receive the money. Checking and updating your nominated beneficiaries costs nothing and can make a significant difference to your family.

Lost or inactive plans: If you have changed address or employer since the pension was set up, the provider may have lost contact with you. The government's Pensions Tracing Service can help locate old workplace or personal schemes.

Consolidation: Bringing multiple pensions together into one plan can simplify administration and make it easier to see your overall retirement picture, though any transfer needs to be assessed carefully to avoid losing valuable guarantees or safeguarded benefits attached to the original plan.

The forthcoming pensions dashboard — expected to go live in late 2026 or early 2027 — will allow consumers to see all their pensions in one place, which may make it easier to identify dormant or underperforming plans.

A regulated financial adviser can review your specific pensions and give personal recommendations based on your full circumstances.