The chairman of the Pensions Administrations Standards Association and director of provider JLT Employee Benefits said the group, which aims to develop a code of practice on due diligence for pension transfers, would seek to halt pension liberation “in its tracks”.
The Pension Liberation Industry Group includes trustees, administrators, legal advisers, insurers, regulators and consumer representatives.
Ms Snowdon said the code of practice would set standards for dealing with scheme transfers and act as a barrier to scams by requiring additional safeguards, including more evidence on the validity of a scheme, appropriate documentation, and the reporting of suspect cases.
She said: “We will also be making recommendations for legislative and regulatory changes and will work toward the launch of a robust code of practice by the beginning of the second quarter of 2014.”
Victoria Holmes, case team leader for The Pensions Regulator, said: “There is no silver bullet to halt this activity and it’s only through the industry working closely with regulators and the government that we can prevent people’s hard-earned retirement savings falling into the hands of pension predators.”
Adviser View
Daniel Cawley, partner of East Sussex-based 121 Financial Services, said: “I would be disappointed if advisers were not included in this group. The last thing we need is administrators and trustees deciding that the pension transfer industry should be shut down. That would be to the detriment of consumers.”