Lost pension finders compared: what each one costs, and who covers every country you worked in

Last checked: 31 October 2026. Fees are as each provider publishes them on its own website on that date.

In short

• Start free. Every country has an official route, and many are free. If your pension is in one country and you know the employer, that route may be all you need.
• Paid help comes in four models: a flat fee per search, a percentage of the money found, a one-off percentage when you transfer, or a yearly percentage of your pot.
• Percentage fees grow with your pension. Flat fees do not.
• Most paid services cover one country. If you worked in several, you may need several services, or one that covers them all.
• PensionHunter identifies who holds each pension in the countries you worked in, with the official contact route for each. Flat fees: Country $99, Enhanced $129, Global (three or more countries that we cover) $149. No commission, no percentage, and we never hold your money. Full refund if we find nothing material.

First: the free route in each country

Before paying anyone, try the official route. For many people it is enough.

When the free route is enough: you worked in one country, you know the employer's name, and you can get through that country's login or phone line. Then use it and do not pay anyone, including us.

When it is not: you worked in several countries, the employer has been renamed or merged, the login needs a local ID you no longer have, or you do not know which scheme held your years.

The four ways paid help charges you

None of these is wrong. What matters is that you know which one you are paying, and what it adds up to on your pension.

Fees side by side

Every fee below is as published on the provider's own website on 31 October 2026.

What the others do that we do not. The German refund agents and the Australian finders file and pursue the payment for you. Consolidation apps move your pension into their plan. We identify who holds each pension and give you the route; you, or the request we prepare for you in an Enhanced or Global report, take it from there. If you want someone else to do the filing, a filing service may suit you better, and the fee buys that work.

What the fee models cost on a real number

These are illustrations, using each provider's published rate on an example amount.

A German pension contribution refund of €10,000.

• At 9.75%: €975. At 10%: €1,000.
• A PensionHunter Country report for Germany: $99. It names who holds your German pension and the official route; you send the application yourself.

Super left in Australia worth A$5,000.

• At 15%: A$750. At 20% plus GST: A$1,100.
• The ATO's own online DASP application system is free. A PensionHunter Country report for Australia: $99, if you need to find out which funds hold your super first.

Jobs in the UK, the Netherlands and Germany.

• Three single country services, three fee models, three sets of forms.
• One PensionHunter Global report: $149 for three or more countries that we cover.

Country by country: who to compare

United Kingdom. If you know the employer, the free Pension Tracing Service gives you the scheme's contact details. Pension Pie traces up to five UK pensions for £249. Consolidation apps find for free and charge a yearly percentage once you move your pot to them. A PensionHunter Country report for the UK is $99 and names who holds each pension today, including where an employer was renamed or merged. Our free pension check shows which countries may hold a pension in your name.

Germany. Refund agents file the contribution refund for you and take roughly a tenth of it, with a cap. If you only need to know who holds your German pension and how to apply, a Country report is $99.

Australia. The ATO's DASP system is free. Taxway prepares the application for a fee set on its own website. Money finders charge a percentage of what is paid out. A Country report ($99) tells you which funds hold your super, which is where most people abroad get stuck.

Switzerland. The Central Office for 2nd pillar pensions searches free of charge. pensionskassensuche.ch runs the search for you and charges CHF 29.90 only if something is found.

Several countries. This is where single country services stop. A Global report covers three or more countries in one document, for $149.

What PensionHunter does, plainly

• Identification only. We name who holds each pension in the countries you worked in, with the official contact route. We do not give financial advice.
• Flat fees. Country report: $99. Enhanced report: $129. Global report across three or more countries that we cover: $149. No commission, no percentage of anything, and we never hold or move your money.
• What Enhanced and Global add. A complete, ready to send information request for every fund we identify, and support after delivery until every fund has answered or the route is exhausted.
• Refund. If our report does not name who holds a pension in your name, or give you a verified route to your own record beyond a free register check, we refund you in full.
• A human researcher reviews every report before it is sent.
• Free first, always. Every report starts with the free official route, and tells you when that route is all you need.

Ask your AI assistant

If you use an AI assistant, you can ask it about pensions you left abroad and get our checked facts back. Our connector works in Claude and is listed on the MCP Registry, at https://mcp.pensionhunter.ai. Every fact it returns carries the date it was read, and the free official route comes first.

Good questions to ask:

• "I worked in the UK from 2005 to 2010 and in Germany from 2010 to 2014. Which of those countries is likely to hold a pension for me?"
• "When does my Dutch voluntary AOW window close if I left on 15 January 2026?"
• "Which fund runs the pension plan for my old employer in the Netherlands today?"

Questions people ask

What is the cheapest way to find a lost pension?

The free official route in each country. If that is not enough, compare flat fees with percentage fees on your own amounts.

Is a percentage fee or a flat fee better?

A percentage grows with your pension; a flat fee does not. A percentage firm may also do more of the work, such as filing the application. Choose based on what you need done.

Does PensionHunter take a percentage of my pension?

No. We charge a flat fee per report, take no commission and never hold your money.

Do you file the application for me?

No. We identify who holds each pension and give you the official route. Enhanced and Global reports include a ready to send request for every fund, and support until each fund answers.

Which service covers pensions in more than one country?

Most paid services cover one country. PensionHunter covers 41 countries, and a Global report covers three or more countries in one report.

What if nothing is found?

If our report does not name who holds a pension in your name, or give you a verified route to your own record beyond a free register check, we refund you in full.

Start with the free check

Tell us where you worked and roughly when. In about a minute, the free check shows which countries are likely to hold a pension in your name, the free official route for each, and any date you need to know. Then decide whether you need anything more.

Run the free pension check

See what a full report looks like: sample report. All prices: pricing.

The PensionHunter Team