Worked at Bradford & Bingley in the UK? Your pension probably still exists. The name on your payslip may not.

If you worked for Bradford & Bingley in the UK, this page is for you. On one morning in September 2008 a Treasury Order divided the company, and the Order is public.

What happened

The Building Societies Association lists the change from Bradford & Bingley Building Society to Bradford & Bingley plc on 4 December 2000 (Source: Building Societies Association, mergers and conversions, read 27 October 2026). The Treasury's Order of 29 September 2008 came into force at 8.00 a.m. that day (Source: The Bradford & Bingley plc Transfer of Securities and Property etc. Order 2008, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). The Order states its purpose as maintaining the stability of the UK financial system (Source: The Bradford & Bingley plc Transfer of Securities and Property etc. Order 2008, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). By the Order the shares in Bradford & Bingley were transferred to the Treasury Solicitor as nominee of the Treasury (Source: The Bradford & Bingley plc Transfer of Securities and Property etc. Order 2008, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). The Order also transferred specified rights, liabilities, property and contracts of Bradford & Bingley to Abbey, which it defines as Abbey National plc (Source: The Bradford & Bingley plc Transfer of Securities and Property etc. Order 2008, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026).

Why the trail is hard

One Order did two things at once. It moved the shares to the Treasury Solicitor, and immediately after it moved specified parts of the business to Abbey. The employer you left and the company that carried on can therefore be different ones. We have not read what happened to the rest after that day.

Which era were you in?

The employer's name and owner changed over the years, so the first question is which one you worked for. This holds for the dates in the left column.

Which pension arrangement applied to you depends on the company that employed you in those years and on your own terms. This page does not name a scheme or say who holds one today. A name that is right for the bank today may not have been right for your years, so we do not guess. Your report names it.

Not sure which row fits? Start the free check and tell us when you worked at Bradford & Bingley.

Do I have a pension from my Bradford & Bingley years?

It depends first on when you left. The law set a minimum, and a scheme could always be more generous than the law.

If you left after 6 April 1988 with 2 years or more of service, you very likely have a preserved pension, if you were in the scheme.

Sources: the age 26 and 5 year rule, Social Security Act 1973, Schedule 16, paragraph 6(1), read 20 October 2026, in force from 6 April 1975 (Social Security Act 1973 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1973, read 20 October 2026). The age condition ended on 1 January 1986 (Social Security Act 1985, section 1, read 20 October 2026, and Social Security Act 1985 (Commencement No. 2) Order 1985, read 20 October 2026). Five years became two with effect from 6 April 1988 (Social Security Act 1973, Schedule 16 as amended, note on the Social Security Act 1986, section 10, read 20 October 2026). Two years today, and 30 days for money purchase service that began on or after 1 October 2015 (Pension Schemes Act 1993, section 71, read 20 October 2026).

The free official route comes first

The UK government's free Pension Tracing Service gives you contact details for a workplace pension scheme from the name of an employer. It has a limit, in its own words: "This service will not tell you whether you have a pension, or what its value is." (Source: GOV.UK, Find pension contact details, read 20 October 2026.)

With an old City bank, the name is the hard part. The name on your payslip is rarely the name on the record today, and a search for the wrong name finds the wrong scheme or nothing you recognise.

Former colleagues

We have not yet checked for alumni groups or reunions for Bradford & Bingley, so we list none. If you know of one, the notice board below is coming for exactly this.

Frequently asked questions

I worked in a Bradford & Bingley branch. Which company was my employer? It depends on your years and on whether your work was in a business the Order transferred to Abbey. Tell us your years and your role when you order.

Did the Order change my pension? We have not read a source that says what the Order did to pension arrangements, so we say nothing about it. Your report follows the records that apply to your years.

Do you contact the pension scheme for me? No. We identify who holds the pension and give you what to send. You contact them yourself, and the pension stays yours throughout.

Is the government tracing service not enough? It is the right first step, and it costs nothing. It gives a contact for a scheme name you already have. It will not tell you whether you have a pension, and with Bradford & Bingley the name you remember is not the name on the record today.

What if you find nothing? We say so in the report. The refund promise sits next to the order button above.

More of the City's vanished banks: Alliance & Leicester, Northern Rock, Abbey National, and the A to Z of old names.