Pension guide

Can I find a pension if my employer closed down?

An employer closing does not delete the pension. Workplace pensions are held separately from the employer in trust (UK occupational), with a regulated provider (UK DC, IE PRSAs), or inside a sector fund (NL, AU super). When the employer disappears, the scheme is transferred to a successor administrator or, for defined-benefit failures, a national lifeboat (e.g. UK Pension Protection Fund).

Find my pensions

Full refund if we find nothing material.

Steps

1. Identify the country and scheme type

DB and DC pensions follow different paths after an employer closure. Country determines the lifeboat route, UK has the PPF and FAS; the Netherlands has sector funds outside the employer entirely; Australia has the ATO's lost-super register.

2. Search the public register for scheme-name lineage

In the UK, the Pensions Regulator and Companies House make scheme and successor-employer history publicly searchable. Many ex-employer schemes survive under a new bulk-purchase administrator or annuity buyout (Aviva, Standard Life, Legal & General, Rothesay, PIC).

3. Check the country's lifeboat / unclaimed register

UK: PPF / FAS for failed DB schemes. AU: ATO lost super for inactive low-balance super. IE/CA/ZA: provider-by-provider written requests, no central register. We use the route that exists, never invent one that doesn't.

Frequently asked questions

What if the employer entered administration?

Administration affects the company, not the pension trust. UK occupational pensions sit in a trust separate from the employer; DC pots remain with the contract provider; DB schemes either continue, transfer, or, if the sponsor fails and is underfunded, enter the Pension Protection Fund assessment.

Can a pension be lost if records were destroyed?

It is rare. The administrator, not the employer, holds the member record; administrators keep records by regulation. Identifying the correct successor administrator is the real challenge.

What about overseas employers that closed?

Country-specific. Some countries have central registers (NL mijnpensioenoverzicht; AU ATO); others rely on written requests to each provider (IE, CA, ZA). See the relevant country page for the verified route.

Primary sources

• ppf.co.uk (UK Pension Protection Fund)
• thepensionsregulator.gov.uk
• ato.gov.au (Lost and unclaimed super)