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

If you worked in London for Hill Samuel, the merchant bank, this page is for you. Two Acts of Parliament, four years apart, tell most of what we can say.

What happened

The Hill Samuel Bank and United Dominions Trust Act 1994, dated 21 July 1994, provided for parts of the undertakings of Hill Samuel Bank Limited to be transferred to TSB Bank plc (Source: Hill Samuel Bank and United Dominions Trust Act 1994, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). The Act's preamble records TSB Bank plc as the beneficial owner of all the issued shares in Hill Samuel (Source: Hill Samuel Bank and United Dominions Trust Act 1994, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). The Lloyds TSB Act 1998, dated 31 July 1998, provided for the undertakings of TSB Bank plc and Hill Samuel Bank Limited to be transferred to Lloyds Bank Plc (Source: Lloyds TSB Act 1998, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026). That Act's preamble records Lloyds Bank Plc and Hill Samuel as wholly owned subsidiaries of Lloyds TSB Group plc (Source: Lloyds TSB Act 1998, legislation.gov.uk, read 27 October 2026).

Why the trail is hard

Parliament moved parts of Hill Samuel's business to one bank in 1994 and the rest to another in 1998. A record can therefore sit with the company that employed you, the bank that took part of its business, or the bank that took the rest. We have not read the date TSB first took Hill Samuel over, so we give none.

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 Hill Samuel.

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

Frequently asked questions

I worked for Hill Samuel's private banking or investment management. Is that this page? It can be, and it can be a different trail. We have not read a source for those arms. Tell us your team and your years when you order.

Is Hill Samuel the same as TSB? No. The 1994 Act records TSB Bank plc as the owner of Hill Samuel's shares, which makes them two companies. See our TSB page too.

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 Hill Samuel 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: TSB, Hambros Bank, Kleinwort Benson, and the A to Z of old names.