Lost Money Index, Q4 2026.

Edition date: 1 November 2026

Losing a sock is a household tradition. Losing a pension should not be, yet it happens quietly: a job you left, a house you moved from, a name you changed. Official figures now show how big that quiet loss is. The Pensions Policy Institute counts around 3 million lost pension pots in the UK. The Australian Taxation Office reports just over A$21.2 billion in lost and ATO-held super. Each quarter we gather the official figures in one place, with the source for every number.

“Around 3 million lost pension pots in the UK, and just over A$21.2 billion of lost and ATO-held super in Australia. Nobody set out to lose that money, which is why it is worth a few free minutes to look.”
Frank Marco, Founder, Capital Find Money

The figures

United Kingdom
Around 3 million lost pension pots
Lost pension pots in the UK, from the Pensions Policy Institute's Lost Pensions 2026 research, sponsored by the Money and Pensions Service.
Source: Pensions Policy Institute, Lost Pensions 2026: The Scale of the Challenge. Published: 12 October 2026. Read: 1 November 2026.
Note: The survey covers around 75% of the workplace defined contribution market by number of pots. The PPI says the estimates are not directly comparable with its earlier Lost Pensions Survey estimates and are an updated baseline.
United Kingdom
Approximately £18.7 billion in pension assets
The value of those lost pension pots, as stated by the Pensions Policy Institute.
Source: Pensions Policy Institute, Lost Pensions 2026: The Scale of the Challenge. Published: 12 October 2026. Read: 1 November 2026.
Note: The PPI says defined benefit data are insufficient for a market-wide estimate.
Australia
Just over A$21.2 billion across just under 7.5 million accounts
Total lost super held by funds plus super held by the ATO, as at 30 June 2026, in Australian dollars.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Total lost, fund-held and ATO-held super. Published: Data as at 30 June 2026; page last updated 18 August 2026. Read: 1 November 2026.
Note: The ATO says totals may not align because of rounding.
Australia
A$14.7 billion across 356 thousand accounts
Lost super held by funds, as at 30 June 2026, in Australian dollars.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Total lost, fund-held and ATO-held super. Published: Data as at 30 June 2026; page last updated 18 August 2026. Read: 1 November 2026.
Australia
A$6.6 billion across 7,129 thousand accounts
Super held by the ATO, as at 30 June 2026, in Australian dollars.
Source: Australian Taxation Office, Total lost, fund-held and ATO-held super. Published: Data as at 30 June 2026; page last updated 18 August 2026. Read: 1 November 2026.
Note: The two parts are shown as the ATO states them and are not re-added here.

The chart

Bar chart. UK: approximately £18.7 billion in lost pension pots. Australia: just over A$21.2 billion in lost and ATO-held super, of which A$14.7 billion is lost super held by funds and A$6.6 billion is held by the ATO. Each country is in its own currency. — Each country is shown in its own currency and the two are not compared. Free to reuse with a link to capital-fm.com/lost-money-index.

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<a href="https://capital-fm.com/lost-money-index/2026-q4">Lost Money Index, Q4 2026, capital-fm.com</a>
<img src="https://capital-fm.com/lost-money-index/2026-q4-chart.svg" alt="Chart: lost pension and super money in the UK and Australia, each in its own currency" width="760">

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Free official routes

United Kingdom: Pension Tracing Service (Department for Work and Pensions). More on our United Kingdom page.
Australia: ATO: searching for lost super. More on our Australia page.

Still being checked

Official figures on forgotten bank accounts and life policies, and for the Netherlands, are still being checked against official pages. We add a figure only when an official page states it.

We always point people to the free government tracing route first, and we take nothing from financial advisers.