Multiple jobs create a pension black hole

The average person will have 11 different employers (Getty Images)

If the pension crisis wasn't bad enough, with millions facing penury in retirement, a new survey shows that almost a quarter of adults have actually lost a pension pot.

Age UK said the growing pension black hole resulted from shifting working patterns and confusion around retirement planning. With the idea of long-term jobs disappearing, young workers aged between 25 and 34 have often had as many employers as those aged 65 or older.

And if you've already worked for six different companies by your mid-thirties, it's hardly surprising that you may have lost contact with a previous pension plan.

In fact people work for an average 11 employers over the course of their working lives, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Colin Russell, at the law firm Manches, said: "The black hole has a double impact as a spouse could miss out on benefiting from their partner's pension pot if it has been forgotten about."

But a lost pension pot doesn't have to be a disaster. Your details should still be held by pension trustees, so it could simply be a question of tracking down old pension schemes and informing them of your current situation and any changed circumstances – if at all – to ensure that you are reunited with your lost funds.

The Government's Pension Tracing Service can help. Go to www.gov.uk/find-lost-pension or call the service on 0845 600 2537.