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

If you worked in London for Lehman Brothers, or for Shearson Lehman as the London company was called in the 1980s, this page is for you.

What happened

The London company traded under Shearson names in the 1980s, including Shearson Lehman and Shearson Lehman Brothers (Source: Companies House, the company's list of previous names, read 20 October 2026). Lehman Brothers' London company went into administration on 15 September 2008 (Source: The London Gazette, notice of 9 August 2017, read 20 October 2026).

Why the trail is hard

A company in administration has no personnel department to write to. The pension scheme outlived the bank, and in 2015 its defined benefit pensions were taken on by an insurer (Source: the insurer's own joint press release of 6 May 2015, read 20 October 2026). The names on older statements are not the names on the record today (Source: our reading of the government's pension contact register, read 20 October 2026).

Do I have a pension from my Lehman Brothers 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. Our free pension check starts from your own work history.

Former colleagues

Former Lehman people have met more than once since the collapse. A London reunion was planned for the tenth anniversary, 15 September 2018 (Source: City AM, 20 August 2018, read 20 October 2026). In New York, more than 100 former staff met at Connolly's Pub and the Playwright Tavern, blocks from the old headquarters (Source: CGTN, 22 September 2018, read 20 October 2026).

Groups on LinkedIn:

• Lehman Brothers Alumni
• Lehman Brothers Employees

LinkedIn asks you to sign in before it shows a group, so we give the group names only, without member counts.

Frequently asked questions

Lehman went bust. Did my pension go with it? A pension scheme is held separately from the company that set it up. Lehman's London scheme outlived the bank, and in 2015 its defined benefit pensions were taken on by an insurer. Your report names who holds yours today.

I worked at Shearson Lehman in the 1980s. Is that the same trail? Yes. Shearson Lehman was an earlier name of the same London company. Tell us your years, and check the table above for the rule that applied when you left.

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 Lehman Brothers 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: Merrill Lynch, Salomon Brothers, Credit Suisse, and the A to Z of old names.