I need to sort out my various pensions, where do I start? Help!

NameUnavailable

I have about 6 various pensions from current and previous employers, but must admit I have no real idea what they are going to be worth come retirement in about 10 years time.

I know a couple of them are minimal but there's 2 older ones that should have some worthwhile value to them.

My aim is to find out what each is worth now and look at potentially merging some of them if that makes sense to do. I also want to look at potentially increasing what I'm paying now into my company pension or perhaps paying separately into a new scheme.

Any pointers of where to start would be much appreciated as I'm totally lost. I know I could pay an advisor and will look at that down the line but would like to make some initial enquiries and assessments myself.

TIA

Albermarle

Firstly you need to find all the info on each pension and be clear on the type of pensions you have. There are two totally different types.
Defined Contribution ( DC) and Defined Benefit (DB) 

DC are basically pots of money ( sometimes with some limited guarantees) whilst DB is the promise of a guaranteed pension income. 
Pension basics | Help with pension basics | MoneyHelper

I also want to look at potentially increasing what I'm paying now into my company pension

This is usually a good idea anyway if you can afford it, so probably not worth waiting until sorting out the other pensions.

Pipthecat

Call or write to each of the six providers (others?) and ask for a statement.  I ended up with some providers giving me access to my account on the internet and others providing statements in writing.  Also don't be surprised if any of your older pensions are now being managed by another provider and you have to follow a trail. You will eventually get a picture of what pensions or pension pots you have and can start to make plans.