National Savings & Investments (NS&I) has recently revealed that 14% of Britons (7 million people) think they may have lost track of a financial product, drawing attention to the staggering amount of money left dormant with UK financial services providers.

An even more concerning figure, a fifth of UK adults admitted there is a possibility that they have lost track of a pension.

Nearly two-thirds of Britons (63%) admit to losing or misplacing things occasionally, but many have claimed that this could stretch beyond items such as keys. A quarter of Britons who have admitted to misplacing things tend to lose important documents, potentially leading to losing track of bank or savings account, direct debits or signed agreements.

However, as we are entering an era where a majority of financial products are available online, the requirement to remember security details and passwords is crucial. Just over half (52%) of Britons think that misplacing passwords or codes for accounts is a cause for losing track of financial products, though 78% believe that technological advances have improve the ability to stay in touch with financial products.

This figure increased to 89% when looking at 18-24 year olds specifically, and steadily decreases with age, while 69% of those aged over 65 still agreed that digital technology has improved their ability to keep track of finances.

As a way to combat the complication of paperwork that may come with using multiple providers, 45% of people believe that offering a single banking platform to view all accounts would help prevent people from losing track of their financial products.

Furthermore, NS&I found that just 50% of those who believe they have lost track of a financial product have attempted to track it down, and just over a third (34%) of these are unaware of the ways in which to do so.

Commenting, NS&I chief executive Ian Ackerley said: “Misplacing things from time to time, including money, is common, yet searching for something you may not know exists could appear like a waste of time.

“At NS&I our new purpose is that we want to inspire a stronger savings culture and we believe everyone should have the opportunity to save confidently. If you think you may have had savings or investments that you have lost touch with, doing a little digging and attempting to reunite yourself with lost funds may provide a chance to rekindle your savings habit.”

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