I’m a pensions expert – how to boost your savings and it only takes a few minutes

WE could all do with extra ways to save more money at the minute – but just as important is putting something away for the future.

Saving enough cash for your pension is crucial if you want to live life to the fullest later on.

But HSBC revealed most people are coming up short in saving enough for their retirement.

The Association of British Insurers (ABI) also estimates around £19.4 billion is going unclaimed in workplace pensions.

That works out at a whopping £13,000 average pot per person.

We previously reported on a worker who tracked down an old pension pot to find it had multiplied in size.

But could you do the same, and what other ways can you boost your pension pot without much hassle?

The Sun spoke Samantha Gould, head of campaigns and financial adviser at pension provider NOW Pensions, who offered her three top tips for boosting your savings pot in just minutes.

Track down old pension pots

Samantha estimated workers in today’s market will have around 10 or 11 different jobs in their life by the time they reach retirement age.

If you’re not keeping track of all of them, you could be sitting on unclaimed money.

But, Samantha said, there are ways to track down old pension pots.

“We’ve all got that drawer of shame in the kitchen where we stuff our pension statements,” she said.

“You should have one statement per year from each of your providers.

“So the first place I would go is there and see what pensions you have and where.

“Failing that, you can get a piece of paper and pen, write down the jobs you had and you can go on the government’s pension tracing service, put your employer in and it tells you who your pension is with.

“I would be making sure I’ve written down all my employers, because even if you miss one you could be missing loads.”

Once you’ve done this, you can download a letter on the government’s pension tracing service website asking for a copy of your pension pot from each provider.

It will be called your annual benefit statement and will tell you how much your pension with that provider is worth and what it is projected to be worth at retirement age.

Then you send a letter off to each pension provider to get those details.

Once you’ve heard back, Samantha advised moving all your pensions into your current workplace scheme to ensure your pot is manageable.

Be aware you may have to pay a fee to transfer pots – so remember to check before you go ahead.

Stay in your workplace pension

Since 2012, company employees started being auto-enrolled into workplace pensions.

It means a percentage of a worker’s monthly salary is taken away and put towards a retirement pot.

Your employer has to contribute a minimum amount as well, and the employee’s contribution, usually 5%, includes tax relief from the government.

Samantha said even though it could be tempting to opt out of yours for more money in the short-term, doing so would be a bad idea in the long-term.

“Workplace pensions are brilliant because it’s not just your own money but your employer is contributing as well,” she said.

“In terms of building up the value of a pot, it’s a lot more cost-effective and easier to build up significant amounts of money rather than if you took out a pension yourself.”

While the legal minimum employers have to contribute is 3%, some offer more than this if you’re willing to up your monthly contributions.

Of course, you should only do this after you’ve budgeted and know you have enough money coming in each month.

Samantha added: “It’s worth speaking to your employer about what level they’ll match to as part of its benefits package – it’s free money.”

Check if you’re eligible for pension credits

If you’re already at state pension age, you could be missing out on extra money to help you financially.

Pension Credits are a weekly, tax-free payment offered to people over state pension age on a low income.

It helps a single person get up to £182.60 and couples £278.70.

But according to the government’s most recent figures, around £1.7million in Pension Credit is unclaimed.

You have to live in England, Scotland or Wales and have reached state pension age to qualify for Pension Credit.

Different rules apply if you’re from the EU, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland or Liechtenstein.

The benefit is offered in two parts – guarantee credit and savings credit.

In some cases, you might be eligible for both types.

Guarantee credit is a top-up to your weekly income and savings credit is an extra boost if you’ve got savings or a higher income.

You can apply for Pension Credits online via the government’s website or the Pension Credit claim line which is 0800 991 234.

“There are currently an estimated 850,000 households eligible for Pension Credit who could be missing out,” Samantha said.