Pension scams

Pension scams are not just about the money lost, but the lives devastated, says Nicola Parish, so the industry must unite to defeat this scourge.

The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has launched a pledge initiative to encourage trustees to commit to a step up in processes to protect member interests and combat pension scams.

If authorities really want to stop scams, they ought to make it safe for trustees to refuse a transfer that shows red flags, says Margaret Snowdon

Trustees should have the ability to pause suspected scam transfers, respondents agreed in a Professional Pensions poll.

Pension scammers are “slipping through the net” as hundreds of fraud cases each year do not get passed to the police to investigate, according to Quilter.

Pension companies must be given the power to trigger an “urgent regulatory response” to savers at risk of fraud, while regulators should be able to override the right to transfer, The People’s Pension and The Police Foundation have said.

Law enforcement, financial regulators and the private sector need to do much more and work together to protect savers from fraudsters, says Phil Brown.

Pensions scams will be the key focus in the first part of a Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) inquiry reviewing the impact of the introduction of pension freedoms five years on.

Millions of people are saving for a pension for the first time thanks to AE, but the Covid-19 crisis has posed a communications challenge. James Phillips looks at how to get the long-term nature of pensions across to this new generation of savers.

Work and Pensions Committee (WPC) chairman Stephen Timms will table an amendment to the Pension Schemes Bill to allow schemes to pause transfers when a scam is suspected.