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

If you worked in the UK for Standard Chartered, or for the Chartered Bank or the Standard Bank before 1969, this page is for you. The bank's own history starts with two banks, and Companies House shows the company names moving in 1985 and again in 1993.

What happened

Standard Chartered says James Wilson helped found the Chartered Bank of India, Australia and China in 1853 (Source: Standard Chartered, our history, read 3 November 2026). Standard Chartered says that in 1862 a consortium of businessmen formed the Standard Bank of British South Africa (Source: Standard Chartered, our history, read 3 November 2026). Standard Chartered says that in 1969 the two banks and their histories merged to form Standard Chartered (Source: Standard Chartered, our history, read 3 November 2026). Companies House lists the name The Chartered Bank for an unregistered company from 29 December 1953 to 4 February 1985 (Source: Companies House, the company's list of previous names, read 3 November 2026). Companies House lists the name Standard Chartered Bank public limited company for a company incorporated on 18 November 1969, until 1 January 1985 (Source: Companies House, the company's list of previous names, read 3 November 2026). Companies House lists the name The Standard Bank public limited company for a company incorporated on 15 October 1862, until 1 January 1985 (Source: Companies House, the company's list of previous names, read 3 November 2026). Companies House lists the name Standard Chartered Bank Africa plc for that company from 1 January 1985 to 28 October 1993 (Source: Companies House, the company's list of previous names, read 3 November 2026).

Why the trail is hard

Several companies carried parts of the two banks, and their names moved in 1985. A payslip that says Standard Chartered can sit with more than one of them. We have not read which of those employed UK staff, so this page says nothing about which one applies to you.

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 Standard Chartered.

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

Frequently asked questions

I worked for Standard Chartered in London. Is this my page? Yes, if your contract was a UK one. A contract made overseas is a different trail. Tell us where you were employed and your years when you order.

I worked for the Standard Bank or the Chartered Bank before the merger. Does that change anything? Yes. Your employer was one of the two banks before 1969, and the records of that period follow whichever company held your contract. Tell us your years when you order.

Is Standard Chartered the same as Standard Bank in South Africa? We have read nothing that says so, and they are different names. This page follows the Standard Bank of British South Africa named in Standard Chartered's own history. See our Midland Bank page for another large bank with a long history.

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 Standard Chartered 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: Midland Bank, Barclays Bank International, Kleinwort Benson, and the A to Z of old names.