E.: a UK pension found under three employer names, and a State Pension date worth knowing

E. worked in London for Merrill Lynch from 1989 to 1998, then moved back to the Netherlands. He knew he had a UK pension somewhere. He did not know where.

What we found. Merrill Lynch appears on the UK pension register under three name variants, and they do not lead to the same place. Two lead to the Bank of America UK Retirement Plan, administered by WTW, which carries the main trail today under eight former names as the businesses merged and changed hands. The third is archived and leads to the Merrill Lynch (UK) Defined Contribution Plan, administered by Capita. That is the one people miss. So there were two schemes to write to, not one.

The part he did not know about. The new UK State Pension pays nothing below ten qualifying years, and about nine UK years sits close to that line. His Dutch years can count toward qualifying, while the payment is calculated on UK years only. And the rules for paying voluntary National Insurance from abroad changed in April 2026, with a transitional date of 5 April 2027.

What he got. Step one: ask HMRC for his full National Insurance record. Then both scheme letters, written out for him to sign and send, and the exact questions to ask the International Pension Centre before that date.