Pension scams

Pension scams are on the rise, with many victims losing all of the money they’ve saved for their retirement.

If someone you don’t know, claiming to be a financial adviser, contacts you out of the blue – Be very careful. Trusted financial advisers and investment managers don’t do this, so there’s a chance it could be a scam.

Scams aren’t easy to spot, either. Pension scammers use sophisticated tricks to try and get their hands on your pension savings. They’re often very convincing and come across as completely credible. 

You should be especially suspicious if they tell you:

• you’ll be able to take more than a quarter of your money tax-free
• they have an investment opportunity, but you need to act quickly
• you’ll be able to access your money before you’re 55.

These are all signs that it’s a pension scam.  

If you’re not sure, check with the Financial Conduct Authority

The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) have a register of all the financial services providers that they’ve authorised. You can check the list on the FCA’s website. Or, you can call them on 0800 111 6768.

The Plan’s administrators, Scottish Widows, will also flag any activity on your account that looks suspicious. If you’ve got any concerns, you can always get in touch with them - their phone number is 0800 092 8263.