Your pension savings are valuable and the increased freedoms around what you can do with your pension savings has resulted in an increased number of pension scams. Pension scams can be difficult to spot as the scams have become more sophisticated and the scammers more knowledgeable.
A scammer may approach you out of the blue through cold calling, text message, email or even in person and may offer any of the following:
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- a way to take more than 25% of your pension as cash.
- a way to access your pension pot before age 55.
- a free pension review/health check or entice you with ‘one-off investment opportunities’ which often don’t exist or are extremely high risk with low returns.
If you think you have been targeted by a scammer there are a few steps you should take before you make any decisions:
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- Don’t be rushed or pressured into making any quick decisions about your pension.
- Check who you’re dealing with before changing your pension arrangements. Some scammers have very convincing websites to make them look like a legitimate company, you can check on the FCA register to make sure they’re registered.
- Check if an investment or a pension opportunity is a scam using the FCA’s ScamSmart website.
- Call MoneyHelper on 0800 011 3797 for free impartial advice.
- If you have already accepted an offer you should contact us immediately and contact Action Fraud.
Further information about avoiding pension scams can be found below.