Pension scams

Some 52% of red flags raised by schemes on suspected scam pension transfers involve advisers or unregulated introducers, a report by the Pension Scams Industry Group (PSIG) has claimed.

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) has warned the public to be vigilant of investment scams as Action Fraud reveals more than £197m was lost to scams in 2018.

The sector is responding to changes including the GMP equalisation ruling, data protection and increasing demand for administration services. Holly Roach looks at what this year has in store.

Pension cold-callers will face tougher sanctions from today as a long-awaited ban poses fines of up to £500,000 for "callous crooks" attempting to scam savers.

The 'ScamSmart' campaign is gaining traction, with a five-fold increase in visits to the official website and thousands of savers a day warned about unauthorised firms operating in the area.

Two men who put pension savers' money into "exotic, high risk and suspected scam investments" have been banned from being trustees by The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

This week's top stories included the High Court ruling that guaranteed minimum pensions must be equalised, and Ford offering partial defined benefit transfers to members.

More than half of savers are worried about the government's delay to initiate a ban on cold calling, Aegon says as its research also reveals 91% have received them.

The government's National Fraud Initiative (NFI) has saved £144.8m over the past two years by helping detect and prevent occupational pension fraud and overpayments.

The proposed cold-calling ban may be ineffective if a collaborative regulatory approach between the UK and the European Union (EU) is not maintained post-Brexit, the Pensions Management Institute (PMI) has warned.