Consumers can now search for lost and dormant accounts on behalf of loved ones that have passed away or are vulnerable with Gretel, the free online hub that enables people to find lost and forgotten assets ranging from pensions, investments and savings.
Executors, administrators and other representatives that have the legal rights in place, including those charged with Power of Attorney, acting on behalf of vulnerable friends and family will be able to add their details and valid proof of legal capacity in order to benefit from Gretel’s extensive capability.
With more than half a million deaths in the UK each year (608,000 in 2020), many families face the difficult task of managing the estate of their loved ones, with the often complex and time-consuming job of tracking down both current and dormant financial accounts.
Gretel’s research has found that a quarter (23 per cent) of Brits have had to deal with the estate of a relative or friend that has passed away, for example closing down bank accounts or seeking out pensions and investments, rising to 41 per cent of those aged 55+.
Duncan Stevens, chief executive of Gretel said: “This is an important next step in our mission to get the £50billion of dormant, lost and unclaimed money from savings, investments and pensions back into the hands of the consumer where it belongs.
“Many of us will face the daunting task of managing the estate of a loved one, often at a time when we want to grieve, but the practical aspects need attention. When someone dies the people left behind face the arduous task of trying to track down all the pensions, bank accounts and savings someone might have had. By allowing access to third parties, we hope to make the task of finding lost assets on behalf of others a much simpler, quicker and less complex task, and importantly, at no cost.”
Gretel calculates that there are nearly 20 million customer accounts with a combined value of over £50billion that have been lost or forgotten by their rightful owners in the UK alone. This includes £37billion in pensions, £5.3billion in lost investments and shares and £2.0billion in lost life insurance.
Uniquely, once a customer has signed up with Gretel, for themselves or for deceased relatives and vulnerable adults, the service will keep working for them to constantly look for lost monies and flag any new accounts as and when they are identified. Gretel is the only service that covers the entire financial services industry and allows third parties to search, find and connect lost and dormant accounts.
