Can PensionBee find my lost or old pensions?

Can PensionBee find my pensions? Not by itself: it says it cannot trace old pensions for you, so you start by finding out who your provider was.

People often hope a pension firm will go and look for forgotten pots. PensionBee's published help pages describe something narrower, and what it does need from you is set out below. PensionBee's BeeKeepers run transfers rather than give advice, so for a view on your own rediscovered pots, ask for a free FCA-authorised adviser call-back; the short form on this page takes the request.

Can PensionBee find lost pensions for you?

No, going by its own FAQ: "While we'll do everything we can to help you transfer your pensions, we can't trace your old pensions for you." The tracing is left to you. Its tracing guide adds that if you cannot supply the basic information, "PensionBee won't be able to locate your old pension."

What it does do is take over once you can name a provider. It contacts that provider for a transfer balance, and the pot then moves into a new PensionBee plan, as in any pension transfer. So the useful question is whether you can say where a pension sits, not whether PensionBee has a search tool. For the tracing itself, see how to find a lost pension.

What does PensionBee need to start moving an old pension?

Sign-up asks about each pension. In its walkthrough, PensionBee says it will ask who the provider is, the policy number if you have it, whether you are still paying in, and for a signature to confirm the transfer. The FAQ puts it plainly: "Without the right information about your old pensions, we can't start a transfer from your old provider to PensionBee."

The policy number matters for some providers. You may be asked for it when moving from certain firms, and if it is missing the FAQ suggests ringing the current provider or looking back through its letters. A pension you know about but cannot fully describe can still be added, since details can be supplied later in your online account, though the transfer cannot start until the provider is known.

Timing is the firm's own estimate. Some providers answer more slowly than others, but most take a few weeks to respond, and PensionBee gives an average of 12 weeks to process and transfer old pensions. Your own providers may be quicker or slower, and how long a pension transfer takes covers the common causes of delay.

How do you work out who your old pension provider was?

PensionBee points to two routes. The first is your previous employers: it suggests asking them for details of old workplace pensions. The second is the government's Pension Tracing Service, which PensionBee describes as a free tracker that searches a database for the names and contact details of providers. You can search it by employer or by provider.

The limits matter. GOV.UK says the service "will not tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is", and it needs an employer's or provider's name before it can search. Contact details in hand, you ask the provider for the value yourself. The service is covered in is the Pension Tracing Service free, and the planned online view of all your pensions in the pensions dashboard.

What could moving an old pension cost or lose?

PensionBee says joining is free and that it keeps "one fee that covers everything including transferring your pensions, switching plans, contributing to or withdrawing from your pension". That covers PensionBee's side only, and the footnote to that sentence adds a £150 fee for withdrawing a whole pot that has been with PensionBee for less than a year. The annual charge is set out in PensionBee fees. Your old provider may have its own terms.

On those, PensionBee says that if an old provider charges an exit fee of more than £10, or the pension carries special benefits or guarantees you could lose, it will ask your permission before completing the transfer. It adds that a fee below £10 goes ahead without that step. It also says it relies on clear information from third parties, so it cannot guarantee it will find every exit fee or special benefit.

Older and final-salary schemes need particular care. By law, advice is needed before transferring safeguarded benefits, such as a final salary promise or a guaranteed annuity rate, with a transfer value above £30,000. PensionBee says it accepts such a transfer only if the advice is given or checked by a Pension Transfer Specialist, and it does not give advice itself. What a guarantee is worth is personal, so final salary pensions and whether to merge pensions at all are worth reading first. Your own pots decide it, and an adviser can weigh them with you once you request a call-back. Before moving any pension, the FCA's pension scams guidance lists what to watch for.

Finding and combining old pensions: PensionBee answers

Does PensionBee have a pension finder?

Not one that searches for pots, as it says it cannot trace pensions for you. Its "Do I have a pension?" page asks a few questions to show whether you are likely to have one, and for the provider's name it points you to the government's free Pension Tracing Service.

How do I trace a pension from a former bank or other big employer?

Ask that employer's HR department, or search the Pension Tracing Service by the employer's name. Give employment dates and your National Insurance number when asking, as PensionBee suggests for any former employer.

What is Origo Options?

PensionBee describes it as an electronic transfer service that most of the industry has subscribed to, and says that, once the new provider has sent everything needed, it aims to move money out to most FCA-regulated personal pension firms on it within 14 days. That is about leaving PensionBee; transferring out of PensionBee has the detail.

Can I pay into PensionBee by standing order or direct debit?

PensionBee says you can choose monthly or one-off contributions using Easy bank transfer or standing order, set up from the Contribute option in your account. Changes are made in your own banking app, and PensionBee says an existing Direct Debit or standing order will likely need cancelling and setting up again.

Do I have to combine pensions once I have found them?

No. Finding a pension and moving it are separate steps. Some providers' pensions carry benefits that are easy to lose, so it is worth hearing an FCA-authorised adviser out before anything moves, and the request form here takes one short enquiry, then a free call-back.