The UK Found Money Index: £36 Billion a Year Goes Unclaimed
At least £36 billion a year goes unclaimed or unearned in the UK: £24.1 billion in benefits and social tariffs, plus about £12 billion in missed savings interest. The full Index, with every figure sourced.
TL;DR: At least £36 billion a year goes unclaimed or unearned in the UK. That is £24.1 billion in benefits and social tariffs that people are entitled to but do not claim (Policy in Practice, 2025/26), plus about £12 billion a year in interest missed on roughly £300 billion sitting in accounts paying 0% (Bank of England data). Around 7.5 million households are missing out on support, and the average missed claim is worth £3,203 a year. This page is the full Index: every pot, every figure, every source, and how to check what is yours.
The quick answer: how much money goes unclaimed in the UK?
At least £36 billion a year. Policy in Practice estimates £24.1 billion in income-related benefits and social tariffs will go unclaimed across Great Britain in 2025/26. On top of that, Bank of England data shows around £300 billion held in accounts paying no interest at all, which costs savers roughly £12 billion a year in missed interest at today’s best rates. Separately, an estimated £31.1 billion sits in lost pension pots (Pensions Policy Institute). Figures checked October 2026. Sources are listed in full at the bottom of this page.
Most sites quote one of these numbers on its own. The Found Money Index puts them together in one place, with the method shown, so journalists, advisers and ordinary readers can use the figures and check them. This is edition 1, published October 2026. The next edition lands on 29 October 2026, the day after the Autumn Budget, with live results from our readers’ own checks.
The Index basket: unclaimed benefits and social tariffs
Policy in Practice’s Missing Out 2025 report is the most complete count of unclaimed support in Great Britain. These are its headline figures for 2025/26:
| Support going unclaimed | Missed claims | Average per claim, per year | Total unclaimed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Universal Credit | 1,671,000 | £6,669 | £11.1 billion |
| Council Tax Support | 2,571,000 | £1,286 | £3.3 billion |
| Carer’s Allowance | 553,000 | £4,252 | £2.4 billion |
| Child Benefit | 742,000 | £1,998 | £1.5 billion |
| Pension Credit (Policy in Practice estimate) | 761,000 | £2,121 | £1.6 billion |
| Housing Benefit for pensioners | 226,000 | £4,788 | £1.1 billion |
| Water social tariffs | 3,847,000 | £194 | £745 million |
| Warm Home Discount | 4,812,000 | £150 | £722 million |
The table shows the largest pots. Broadband social tariffs (a further £1.5 billion, average £200 per household), free school meals (£69 million), Healthy Start (£55 million) and TV licences (£52 million) complete the £24.1 billion total. In our guide to unclaimed money in the UK you can work through each pot one by one.
Spotlight: Pension Credit, the most missed pension top-up
The DWP’s own take-up statistics tell an even stronger story than the estimate above. Up to 910,000 families who are entitled to Pension Credit did not claim it in the year ending 2024, leaving up to £2.5 billion unclaimed. The average amount going unclaimed is about £2,600 a year per family.
Two myths keep people from claiming. The first is savings: the first £10,000 of savings is ignored completely, and there is no upper savings limit. The second is owning your home: homeowners can and do receive Pension Credit. Any award, even a small one, also opens the door to the Warm Home Discount, Council Tax Reduction, Cold Weather Payments and a free TV licence for households with someone aged 75 or over. Check in minutes on the GOV.UK Pension Credit page.
The second pot: savings earning nothing
Bank of England data shows around £300 billion sitting in accounts paying 0% interest. At the best easy access rates available now, about 5.00% AER, that money could earn roughly £12 billion a year. Instead it earns nothing.
The personal version is simple maths. £10,000 in a 0% account earns £0 in a year. The same £10,000 at 5.00% AER earns £500. Our guide to the best savings accounts in the UK lists the top rates, checked monthly, and every account named is protected by the FSCS up to £120,000 per person per bank.
Forgotten money: the one-off pots
These are one-off pots of money rather than yearly flows, so we keep them out of the £36 billion headline. They are still very real:
- Lost pensions: £31.1 billion. An estimated 3.3 million pension pots are lost or inactive, worth £9,470 on average, rising to £13,620 for people aged 55 to 75 (Pensions Policy Institute).
- Child Trust Funds: over £1.5 billion. About 760,000 matured accounts belonging to people now over 18 are still unclaimed, worth about £2,000 each on average (government figures). The FCA has warned that claims firms charge up to £400 to trace funds you can find free on GOV.UK in minutes. Never pay.
- NS&I unclaimed prizes: £126.8 million in Premium Bonds prizes alone, as of September 2026.
Where the missing money concentrates
Missing money is not spread evenly. DWP analysis of Pension Credit shows take-up of 83% in Tower Hamlets in London but just 44% in the Cotswolds. Urban areas claim at about 67%, rural areas at about 54%, which means the countryside is quietly leaving the most on the table. In Scotland, the charity Independent Age estimates almost 200,000 older people are missing out on £346 million a year. In November we publish the local version of this Index, built from Freedom of Information requests to councils across the UK, so readers can see the figures for their own area.
What one household can find: a worked example
Take a pensioner who has never checked (an illustrative example, built only from the sourced averages on this page). Pension Credit unclaimed: £2,600 a year. Warm Home Discount missed: £150. Water social tariff missed: £194. Total: £2,944 a year, every year, before any one-off pots like a lost pension or a bank switch bonus of up to £300. Age UK’s benefits check service reports that the people it helps find an average of £5,900 in unclaimed support, so for many households the true figure is higher.
Money you can grab this week
One part of the Index needs no waiting and no eligibility test. Banks pay new customers to switch, and our bank switch offers page checks every offer weekly. Right now Barclays pays up to £300, HSBC pays £220, first direct pays £210, Lloyds and NatWest pay £200, and Nationwide pays £175. Switching is run for you by the Current Account Switch Service, and your payments move with you.
Check your own number: the Found Money Finder is live
National totals are one thing. Your number is another. The free Found Money Finder is live now: answer 7 questions and it adds up the pots that could apply to you, from unclaimed support to idle savings to switch bonuses, then gives you a fix list linked to our guides. Your answers stay in your browser; nothing is sent to us. The free UK Money MOT takes two minutes and shows where your money is leaking, and our newsletter readers get the Finder figures first: join free here. More ways to build money back are on our Make Money in the UK page.
How we built this Index (methodology)
- Sources first. Every figure comes from a named source, listed below, and was checked in October 2026.
- No double counting. Pension Credit appears once in the £24.1 billion total, using Policy in Practice’s estimate. The DWP’s higher figure is shown separately in the spotlight as the official cross-check, because the two bodies count differently.
- Flows and pots kept apart. The £36 billion headline counts only money missed per year. One-off pots (lost pensions, Child Trust Funds, unclaimed prizes) are reported separately and never added into it.
- Estimates labelled as estimates. Unclaimed benefit figures are modelled estimates by the bodies named, not exact counts. Where sources disagree, we say so.
- Updates. Edition 2 follows the Autumn Budget on 29 October 2026. The savings and switch figures are rechecked monthly and weekly on the guides they link to.
UK Markets Today is an independent UK money site. This page is general information, not financial advice. For advice on your own situation, MoneyHelper and Citizens Advice are free and impartial.
Frequently asked questions
How much money goes unclaimed in the UK each year?
At least £36 billion a year. That combines £24.1 billion in unclaimed benefits and social tariffs (Policy in Practice, 2025/26) with about £12 billion a year in interest missed on savings held at 0% (Bank of England data). Lost pension pots worth £31.1 billion are counted separately because they are a one-off pot, not a yearly flow.
Why are there two different Pension Credit figures, £2,600 and £4,524?
They measure different things. About £2,600 is the average amount going unclaimed per entitled family, from the DWP’s take-up statistics. £4,524 is the value of a typical award for people who do claim, about £87 a week over a year. Headlines often mix the two up.
Does having savings or owning my home stop me claiming Pension Credit?
No. The first £10,000 of savings does not affect Pension Credit at all, there is no upper savings limit, and homeowners can receive it. These two myths are the most common reasons eligible pensioners never check.
How can I check what I can claim, free of charge?
Use the free calculators on GOV.UK benefits calculators and the Pension Credit calculator on GOV.UK. You never need to pay a company to check or to trace a Child Trust Fund; the FCA has warned about firms charging up to £400 for checks that are free.
What is the Found Money Index?
It is UK Markets Today’s running total of the money going unclaimed or unearned in the UK, built from official and research sources with the method published on this page. Edition 1 is October 2026. Edition 2, after the Autumn Budget, adds live results from readers using the Found Money Finder.
Is this page financial advice?
No. It is general information built from published statistics. Benefit entitlement always depends on your own circumstances, so confirm with GOV.UK, MoneyHelper or Citizens Advice before acting.
Sources
- Policy in Practice, Missing Out 2025: £24.1 billion of support unclaimed in 2025/26, reported at Disability Rights UK.
- DWP income-related benefits take-up statistics, year ending 2024: up to 910,000 families not claiming Pension Credit, up to £2.5 billion unclaimed, average £2,600 per family.
- Bank of England savings data, reported by Moneyfacts, September 2026.
- Pensions Policy Institute, lost pension pots research: £31.1 billion in 3.3 million lost pots.
- The Times, September 2026: claims firms charging up to £400 to trace Child Trust Funds; 760,000 matured accounts unclaimed.
- Ofgem, energy price cap from 1 October 2026: £1,723 a year for a typical household.
- Independent Age: older people in Scotland missing an estimated £346 million a year.
Found Money Index, edition 1. Last updated: October 2026. Next edition: 29 October 2026.
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