Pension scams.

A pension scam is the transfer of your pension to an arrangement which may not be acting in your best interest.

Scammers know that you can access your savings in many ways and will try to lure you with promises of cash up front, one-off deals with guaranteed returns or access to your pension savings before age 55. Accessing your pension before age 55 is only possible in rare cases such as ill-health and doing so otherwise is fraudulent.

Those targeted are usually misled as to the consequences of their actions, such as serious tax charges and penalties that may be more than half of your pension savings, high charges for entering the new scheme and high-risk investments for the savings they receive.

Protect yourself against pension scams.

Watch the video below for tips on how you can protect your pension:

Protect yourself online.

Scammers can use emails or websites to trick you. To make sure you don’t get caught out:

  • Check any emails you receive are from us – our emails will always end in @marksandspencer.com, @marks-and-spencer.com, @mands.com or @email.mandspensionscheme.com. We also send emails under our communications and administration services provider, Capita, usually ending @capita.com
  • If you contact us, we might request your National Insurance number, address and/or date of birth to confirm your identity. We’ll never ask for your bank details.
  • Don’t click on embedded attachments or links within emails unless you know the email has been sent from a reliable source. Viruses can be introduced into computers via emails that contain harmful attachments or links.
  • Only visit sites that you know and trust. Keep an eye out for bogus websites that are similar to genuine ones to avoid getting caught out.
  • When logging in to online accounts:
    • Make passwords long and strong combining at least 8 capital and lowercase letters with numbers and symbols.
    • Keep separate passwords for every online account. Search for ‘Password Keepers’ online to help you manage your passwords.
    • Only view personal data on a secure connection, like at home or in the office.

 

For more guidance on how to protect yourself online visit - www.getsafeonline.org

Remember - if you receive something that claims to be from the Trustee or our Pension Administrators but it looks suspicious, please forward this to Trustee.Board@marksandspencer.com

For more information and where to go to for help, read the Pension Regulator’s and FCA’s Scam Smart guide.

Useful websites

  • FCA Scam Smart – check a pension opportunity and get more tips to protect your pension.
  • FCA Register – find out if the firm you’re dealing with is registered with the FCA and you’ve got the right contact details.
  • Action Fraud – report a scam and protect others from being victims.
  • Pension Wise – free and impartial guidance about any defined contribution pension savings you may have in other pension arrangements.
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