It’s estimated that individuals who fall victim to pension scams lose, on average, £75,000. Make sure you know what to look out for so you can spot scams and keep your pension safe.
Most pension scams use similar tactics. These include:
- Free pension reviews by unauthorised advisers.
- Investment fraud.
- Arrangements that claim you can access your pension early (before age 55).
Professional financial advice is not free. Anyone who offers a free pension review is likely to be planning a scam, where they may recommend that you move your pension to a risky or outright fraudulent investment scheme, or one with high ongoing charges.
Some scammers might skip the free review, and simply approach you with offers of guaranteed investment returns or ways to access your pension early.
You cannot take your pension before age 55, and if you do you may need to pay up to 55% of the money you take as tax.
It’s illegal to make cold calls about financial services, including pensions, so if anyone contacts you out of the blue, it’s likely to be a scam. You can find more information on how to protect yourself from scams on our Pension scams page.
Many scammers also use email and social media to contact people, so make sure you check that companies are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority on the FCA website before you contact them.
The FCA also provide more information on how to protect yourself from scams and reporting scams at ScamSmart