LONDON, 23 October 2026. Many people now living in India once worked in the UK. That work can leave two separate UK entitlements: a workplace pension from an employer, and qualifying years towards the UK State Pension. UK employers must automatically enrol workers aged 22 to State Pension age who earn at least £10,000 a year, so even a short UK job may have created a pension pot.

Six free steps
1. Start at home. EPFO members can view their EPF passbook with their UAN at passbook.epfindia.gov.in (or via the UMANG app). It covers Indian EPF and EPS contributions only, not UK pensions.
2. UK workplace pensions. The UK government's Pension Tracing Service (https://www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details) gives free contact details for old schemes. You need the employer's or provider's name. It does not say whether you have a pension or its value; the scheme confirms that. From abroad: +44 191 218 7777, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm UK time. Online at any time.
3. UK State Pension forecast. Check online on gov.uk, in the HMRC app, with form BR19, or through the Future Pension Centre (+44 191 218 3600). The new State Pension needs at least 10 qualifying years.
4. Check before paying voluntary contributions. Since 6 April 2026, gaps for time abroad can only be filled with Class 3 contributions, and only by people with 10 years' UK residence or 10 qualifying years. Paying does not always increase the pension.
5. Know the uprating rule. The UK State Pension can be paid in India, but gov.uk says yearly increases are only paid to people living in the EEA, Switzerland, or a country whose social security agreement with the UK allows them. India is not on gov.uk's list, so the amount does not rise each year while you live there. Claims from abroad go through the International Pension Centre (+44 191 218 7777).
6. Gather paperwork and update your address. Employer names, payslips, P60s and your National Insurance number. Tell any scheme you find your current address and check your beneficiary details.

For scale, in the UK alone the Pensions Policy Institute (PPI) estimates about 3 million lost pension pots containing a combined £18.7 billion, which the PPI calls a lower bound estimate. More than four in five lost pots belong to people under 55 (PPI Table 1), and 13% of pots belonging to over 75s are considered lost. The PPI says the figures are not comparable with earlier estimates: https://www.pensionspolicyinstitute.org.uk/research-library/research-reports/2026/lost-pensions-the-scale-of-the-challenge/

PensionHunter, which put these steps together, also offers a free online check: https://pensionhunter.ai/pension-checker?utm_source=prfree&utm_medium=press&utm_campaign=nptd2026&utm_content=in

About PensionHunter: PensionHunter is a trading name of Battersea Park Capital Ltd, registered in England and Wales, Company No. 13326151, ICO No. ZC113586. It does identification and research only: no advice, no commission, and it never holds clients' money. It is not regulated by the FCA, and it is not a sponsor or partner of National Pension Tracing Day.

Contact: Frank Marco, PensionHunter, 106 Switch House East, Circus Road East, London, SW11 8BB, United Kingdom. [email protected]