The library: the best free help for finding lost money
This is a short, checked list of where to look for lost pensions, dormant accounts, old shares, life policies, Premium Bonds and a dead person's money. Official free routes come first. Everything else is scored with a rubric we publish.
Start here
- Pensions · UK: Find contact details for an old workplace or personal pension
- Pensions · NL: Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl
- Accounts · UK: Search for lost bank, building society and NS&I accounts
- Accounts · NL: Loket Slapende Tegoeden (dormant bank balances)
- Shares · UK: Search a company's name history and status
- Shares · NL: KVK company search
- Premium Bonds · UK: Find lost Premium Bonds
- A dead person's money · UK: Applying for probate
- A dead person's money · NL: Centraal Testamentenregister
Official routes
Mijnpensioenoverzicht.nl
Stichting Pensioenregister
OfficialNL
The free Dutch site, logged in with DigiD, that shows your State pension and workplace pensions together.
Score 98 / 100 · Rank 3
Why this score
- Official or independent: 25 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 20 / 20
- Usefulness today: 20 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Step-by-step guide to tracing a lost pension
MoneyHelper (Money and Pensions Service)
OfficialUK
Free government-backed guidance on what to gather and who to contact when you think you have a lost pension.
Score 98 / 100 · Rank 2
Why this score
- Official or independent: 25 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 20 / 20
- Usefulness today: 19 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 9 / 10
Free
This site blocks automated checks; we check it by hand.
Last checked 3 November 2026
Search for lost bank, building society and NS&I accounts
My Lost Account (UK Finance, BSA and NS&I)
OfficialUK
One free form that asks banks, building societies and NS&I to search for accounts in your name or a dead relative's.
Score 98 / 100 · Rank 1
Why this score
- Official or independent: 25 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 20 / 20
- Usefulness today: 20 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Find contact details for an old workplace or personal pension
GOV.UK Pension Tracing Service
OfficialUK
The free government search for the current contact details of a pension scheme, using the employer or provider name.
Score 98 / 100 · Rank 1
Why this score
- Official or independent: 25 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 20 / 20
- Usefulness today: 20 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Find lost money in Australia
Moneysmart (ASIC)
OfficialAU
The Australian government's free search for money in bank accounts, shares and life policies.
Score 96 / 100 · Rank 3
Why this score
- Official or independent: 25 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 20 / 20
- Usefulness today: 19 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 7 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Podcasts
How to find your lost Child Trust Fund, with HMRC's Ged Killen
Mouthy Money · 15 October 2026
Host: Edmund Greaves · Guest: Ged Killen (HMRC)
HMRC's Ged Killen explains how to find a Child Trust Fund you never knew you had, using the free GOV.UK route.
Score 95 / 100 · Rank 1
Why this score
- Official or independent: 24 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 19 / 20
- Usefulness today: 19 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Chris Curry on Pensions Dashboards, Data, and Trust, Chris Curry, Money and Pensions Service (#40)
Regulated Digital · 9 June 2026
Host: Sam Kendall · Guest: Chris Curry (MaPS Pensions Dashboards Programme)
The pensions dashboards programme lead on data quality, trust and the move to connect schemes.
Score 87 / 100 · Rank 2
Why this score
- Official or independent: 21 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 18 / 20
- Usefulness today: 15 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Why the Price Cap rise is voluntary! £87bn of lost pensions & accounts. Reclaim student loans
The Martin Lewis Podcast (BBC 5 Live) · 4 June 2026
Host: Martin Lewis
A Martin Lewis segment on money left in lost pensions and old accounts, and the free ways to start looking.
Score 87 / 100 · Rank 3
Why this score
- Official or independent: 20 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 18 / 20
- Usefulness today: 18 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 6 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Lost Pensions and Student Loans
Money Box (BBC Radio 4) · 7 December 2024
Host: Money Box (BBC Radio 4) · Guest: Pensions Policy Institute research
ENUK#pensions
Money Box on new research into how many workplace pension pots have lost touch with their owners, and the small-pots fixes being planned.
Score 87 / 100 · Rank 4
Why this score
- Official or independent: 22 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 19 / 20
- Usefulness today: 17 / 20
- Freshness: 11 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Tracing lost and forgotten financial assets
Money Box (BBC Radio 4) · 15 February 2022
Host: Louise Cooper · Guest: Kaya Marchant (MoneyHelper) and others
ENUK#pensions#accounts#policies
A BBC panel walks through where forgotten bank accounts, pensions and policies end up, and the free routes to trace each one.
Score 85 / 100 · Rank 5
Why this score
- Official or independent: 22 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 19 / 20
- Usefulness today: 19 / 20
- Freshness: 6 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 9 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Free guides
Free ways to find lost assets
MoneySavingExpert · 8 September 2026
UK
One page covering lost bank accounts, Child Trust Funds, investments, shares, insurance and a dead relative's money, with the free routes for each.
Score 89 / 100 · Rank 1
Why this score
- Official or independent: 17 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 18 / 20
- Usefulness today: 19 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 10 / 10
Free
This site blocks automated checks; we check it by hand.
Last checked 3 November 2026
How to find old or lost pensions
MoneySavingExpert · 20 October 2026
UK
A thorough free walk-through: list your old employers, use the Pension Tracing Service, then contact the scheme. Also covers a dead relative's pension.
Score 88 / 100 · Rank 2
Why this score
- Official or independent: 17 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 18 / 20
- Usefulness today: 19 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 9 / 10
Free
This site blocks automated checks; we check it by hand.
Last checked 3 November 2026
Research, reports and the law
Lost Pensions 2026: The Scale of the Challenge
Pensions Policy Institute (sponsored by MaPS) · 12 October 2026
UK
The latest independent estimate of how many UK pension pots have lost touch with their owners, with first evidence on defined benefit schemes. Not comparable with earlier surveys.
Score 91 / 100 · Rank 1
Why this score
- Official or independent: 22 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 20 / 20
- Usefulness today: 14 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 10 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Reclaim Fund Ltd annual report and accounts 2025/26
Reclaim Fund Ltd (via GOV.UK) · 14 July 2026
UK
The dormant accounts fund's yearly report: money passed to good causes, money returned to owners and which firms take part.
Score 85 / 100 · Rank 2
Why this score
- Official or independent: 23 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 19 / 20
- Usefulness today: 10 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Dormant Assets Parliamentary Review
GOV.UK (DCMS)
UK
The government's review of how the expanded dormant assets scheme is working.
Score 79 / 100 · Rank 3
Why this score
- Official or independent: 24 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 19 / 20
- Usefulness today: 9 / 20
- Freshness: 9 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
PS24/10: Expansion of the Dormant Assets Scheme, second phase
Financial Conduct Authority
UK
The FCA's rules for investment and wealth firms joining the dormant assets scheme, including their duty to trace owners first.
Score 79 / 100 · Rank 4
Why this score
- Official or independent: 24 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 19 / 20
- Usefulness today: 8 / 20
- Freshness: 9 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 9 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Annual report highlights
Reclaim Fund Ltd · 14 July 2026
UK
The fund's own summary of its latest annual report.
Score 78 / 100 · Rank 5
Why this score
- Official or independent: 21 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 18 / 20
- Usefulness today: 9 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 10 / 10
- Depth: 5 / 10
Free
Last checked 3 November 2026
Tools
Gretel
Gretel (commercial firm)
A commercial service, free to the user, that searches participating firms for accounts, pensions and policies in your name or a dead relative's.
Score 73 / 100 · Rank 1
Why this score
- Official or independent: 10 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 15 / 20
- Usefulness today: 16 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 9 / 10
- Depth: 8 / 10
Free to use · commercial firm
Last checked 3 November 2026
Penny
Penny (commercial firm)
A commercial pension app that helps you find and manage old pensions. Check its terms before you sign up.
Score 58 / 100 · Rank 2
Why this score
- Official or independent: 6 / 25
- Accuracy and sourcing: 13 / 20
- Usefulness today: 14 / 20
- Freshness: 15 / 15
- No fee: 4 / 10
- Depth: 6 / 10
Commercial · check its terms
Last checked 3 November 2026
See all tools, including our own
The whole library is open data: /data/v1/library.json.
Questions
Why are official routes always first?
Official routes are free and come straight from the bodies that hold or trace the money. Anything else can only help you find your way to them.
Do you get paid for listing anything?
No. Nobody pays to be listed or ranked. We always point people to the free government tracing route first, and we take nothing from financial advisers.
Why are your own tools not ranked?
Marking our own homework would not be fair. Our tools are featured, clearly labelled as ours, and never scored or ranked.
How often do you check links?
Every link is checked before each build, and again every week. Sites that block automated checks are checked by hand.
How we rank · Suggest a resource
Last checked: 3 November 2026