Britons can avoid pension ‘complications’ with simple savings tip

Many people are likely to end up with several pensions by the time they reach retirement age, particularly if they have held multiple jobs. However, these can be hard to keep track of, and individuals may not even know how much they are set to receive in retirement.Combining pensions together – also known as pension consolidation – is often posited as a way to ensure nothing is forgotten.For the upcoming Pension Awareness Week, Express.co.uk spoke exclusively to Colin Dyer, financial planning expert at abrdn, who shared five tips for those considering consolidation.Firstly, before doing anything at all, Mr Dyer stresses it is vital for Britons to check how many pensions they have, as well as what these arrangements offer.Some arrangements have specific benefits and guarantees a person would be loath to give up, such as death benefits or financial guarantees.READ MORE: NatWest offers 5% interest rate through ‘go-to’ savings account Pension: Britons can avoid ‘complications’ with simple savings tip (Image: Getty)Mr Dyer explained some schemes may charge an exit fee for those who want to move their money.He added: ‘As a pension is a long-term investment, you may still decide to transfer your money, but it is always worth giving this some thought before doing so.’A second point of action is tracking down any pensions one may have lost over time – for example, through moving company or address.It is estimated there are 1.6 million lost pensions in the UK worth about £20billion, currently sitting unclaimed.However, all people will need to track their money down is the name of their employer or pension provider.DON’T MISSDWP issues stark warning as cost of living payments due [UPDATE]Readers call for triple lock to remain as worries grow [ANALYSIS]Evri warning over dangerous parcel text which may lose you thousands [WARNING] Pension: Monthly sum needed for a £100k pot (Image: EXPRESS)’If you are consolidating pensions for ease, it is worth noting that once the pensions dashboard project is introduced this will all be done for you. ‘The pensions dashboard, which is a Government objective, will allow you to see all of your pension pots all together – in an online place that you can choose. It’s expected to be up and running in the next couple of years.’Finally, if a person does choose to go ahead, Mr Dyer states they will have to provide specific information about their pensions to their new provider.He explained: ‘All you need to get started is the name of your provider, pension plan number and an approximate value – you can usually find all these on a recent statement.’While consolidating pensions may seem like a complicated process, people should be comforted by the fact the experts will be able to do most of the work.If any questions or queries arise during the process, then a new pension provider should be on hand to help.