The director of regulatory governance and risk for B&CE, provider of The People’s Pension, said recent clampdowns on pension liberation highlighted what can only be described as theft.
She said: “It is too easy to register a pension arrangement with HM Revenue & Customs and this will become more of a problem. Not just in relation to the current outbreak of ‘liberation’, but also if we employ automatic transfers for small pots in the future.
“For this reason there needs to be more legislative restrictions – not less – on the registration of pension arrangements to help protect those who are vulnerable to pensions theft.”
Her comments came after Andrew Meeson, former president of the Association of Taxation Technicians, was jailed for eight and a half years after being convicted of pension tax fraud.
Background
Last month the department for work and pensions, the Pension Regulator, Serious Fraud Office and FSA compiled guidance to be used by providers when requests were made for a scheme transfer as part of a renewed crackdown on pensions liberation.
Adviser view
Keith Iles, director of Middlesex-based JHC Partnership, said: “You can have all the legislation in the world but if someone wants to commit a fraud they will not care about the rules. Due diligence is the most important thing.”
