Moved from Pensions - Practical Problems to The Economy, leaving a link, because it seemed like a slightly better fit. - Chris
This reflects the fragmented nature of workplace pensions, and the problem is bound to get worse as people move jobs far more frequently than they used to.
It therefore seems to me that a possible solution would be for the government to establish a central not for profit pension fund that would simply track the markets generally. For those who wanted it there could be individual tracker funds to track different markets.
Although employers and employees would still be free to make their own provisions I'd envisage that it would be made available to everyone.
It’s long been accepted that such tracker funds frequently outperform privately run (and high charging) pension funds, and it would hugely simplify people’s pension provision, as although they might work for several different employers during their career their pension fund would remain with the same central provider. It would end the problem of lost pots, and make administration far easier for all concerned. The fund would also offer a major advantage over conventional funds in that contributions would not be diminished by fees and charges.
Although the chances of this ever happening are probably near to zero, bearing in mind the huge political clout that the city and its overpaid professionals carry in government circles, I'd be interested to know other Fools' view on such a proposal.