Worked at BZW in London? Your pension probably still exists. The name on your payslip may not.

If you worked in London for BZW, which is short for Barclays de Zoete Wedd, this page is for you. It was the Barclays investment bank for about eleven years, and then it was divided.

What happened

Barclays formed Barclays de Zoete Wedd, known as BZW, in 1986 (Source: Barclays Group Archives, BZW dealing room, read 27 October 2026). BZW was built from a merchant bank, an investment management company and three broking and jobbing firms (Source: Barclays Group Archives, BZW dealing room, read 27 October 2026). In October 1997 Barclays announced its decision to withdraw from the equities, equity capital markets and mergers and acquisitions advisory businesses of BZW (Source: Barclays PLC annual report 1998, read 27 October 2026). BZW was part sold and reorganised as Barclays Capital in 1997 (Source: Barclays Group Archives, BZW dealing room, read 27 October 2026). By the time of the 1998 annual report the former BZW businesses had either been sold or closed (Source: Barclays PLC annual report 1998, read 27 October 2026).

Why the trail is hard

Part of BZW was sold, part was closed and part carried on under a new name, so the employer you left may not be the one that carried on. If you worked for one of the firms BZW was built from before 1986, your employer was that firm and not BZW.

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 BZW.

Do I have a pension from my BZW 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 BZW, so we list none. If you know of one, the notice board below is coming for exactly this.

Frequently asked questions

Was BZW the same as Barclays Capital? BZW was part sold and reorganised as Barclays Capital in 1997, so the two overlap for part of one year. Tell us your team and your years, and the report works out which one employed you.

Did my BZW pension go with the part that was sold? That depends on which business you were in and when you left. 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 BZW 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: Barclays Bank International, Schroders investment bank, Morgan Grenfell, and the A to Z of old names.