MINERS are being tracked down by a pension provider to make sure they get their retirement benefits.

The Mineworkers' Pension Scheme (MPS) has joined the Unclaimed Assets Register, which has records of £500m in unclaimed pensions, shares, life insurance and other policies.

It is open to public searches, for a small fee.

Many former miners in the Huddersfield area may qualify for payments.

The UAR, which is run by business solutions firm Experian, is helping the MPS find 33,000 pension members who have moved house without leaving a new address.

The members have deferred their pensions until they reach retirement age.

The MPS hope to find them using the UAR's databases so pensions can be paid when the time comes.

If the former miners are not located, they could lose their pension payments.

These 33,000 are among 140,000 MPS members who have deferred their pensions.

A further 238,000 former miners already receive pensions from the MPS - the largest funded occupational pension scheme in the UK with £10bn in assets.

David Morgan, chief executive of the MPS, said: "We are determined to protect the interests of our members, many of whom have benefits that they have not claimed but to which they are fully entitled.

"We encourage anyone who believes they are a member of the MPS to contact our administration office on 0845 606 4444."

Keith Hollander, managing director of the UAR, added: "While many organisations are expressing concern about the inadequacy of income for those reaching retirement, it seems incongruous that so much money lies unclaimed."

He said may people miss out on payments because they do not inform their pension providers of address changes or they forget they have a policy.

Some forget to tell their partners before they die.

Mr Hollander added: "The UAR is a simple way of checking if you have any missing assets. But it is important to keep financial providers fully informed when you change address."