Worked at Midland Bank in the UK? Your pension probably still exists. The name on your payslip may not.

If you worked for Midland Bank in the UK, in a branch or at head office, this page is for you. The Midland name left the high street in 1999, and HSBC took ownership in two steps before that.

What happened

The Birmingham and Midland Bank opened for business on 22 August 1836 (Source: HSBC Archives, HSBC UK and Midland Bank, read 27 October 2026). In 1987 The Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation bought a 14.9% stake in Midland (Source: HSBC Archives, HSBC UK and Midland Bank, read 27 October 2026). HSBC Holdings took full ownership of Midland Bank in 1992 (Source: HSBC Archives, HSBC UK and Midland Bank, read 27 October 2026). Midland Bank was renamed HSBC Bank plc in 1999 (Source: HSBC Archives, HSBC UK and Midland Bank, read 27 October 2026). HSBC UK was established on 1 July 2018 (Source: HSBC Archives, HSBC UK and Midland Bank, read 27 October 2026).

Why the trail is hard

A pension follows the company that employed you, and your employer's name changed while its staff stayed in post. The name on your payslip and the name on a record today can be different, and the years before and after 1992 had different owners.

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 Midland Bank.

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

Frequently asked questions

I worked for Midland Bank before HSBC owned it. Does that change anything? Yes. Your employer was Midland Bank on its own, and the records of that period were later brought under a new owner. Tell us your years when you order, and the report follows the ones that apply to them.

Is Midland Bank the same as HSBC today? The company was renamed in 1999. Whether the pension you built up sits with that company depends on your years and your terms, and your report says.

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 Midland Bank 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: Abbey National, Barclays Bank International, Northern Rock, and the A to Z of old names.