Personal PensionJun 30 2015

One in five over 50s targeted by pension scammers

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One in five over 50s targeted by pension scammers

Retirement Advantage has warned retirees to be alert to approaches by fraudsters, after its research found that one in five over 50s may have been targeted by scammers looking to trick people out of their savings.

From a sample of 1,009 adults, in Research conducted by YouGov on behalf of Retirement Advantage found that from 1,009 adults 17 per cent of over 50s and 20 per cent of over 55s have been approached by a company offering to help them access their pension early, via legal loopholes or a one-off investment opportunity.

Half of those contacted was via a telephone call - regulator warned about firms who cald called about investments last year - followed by post at 24 per cent and email/online at 23 per cent.

Andrew Tully, pensions technical director at Retirement Advantage, said: ‘It is clear that there are already scammers preying on people who might like the idea of using the new pension freedoms to take large amounts of cash from their pension schemes.

“The scammers may be offering get rich quick schemes or even early access before age 55 to trick people out of their hard-earned savings. Retirees need to be on their guard: if an opportunity sounds too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

He added that it is vital that the government and financial industry work together to ensure all practical measures possible are in place to protect people from these scams.

“Hopefully Pension Wise will help educate people around the risks, but professional financial advice will be crucial to ensure people understand the options available to them and make the right decision for their personal circumstances. The government also needs to make life difficult for the scammers, and punish those found guilty of preying on innocent victims.”

To help retirees feel equipped to deal with potential scammers Retirement Advantage has highlighted five key things to be alert for:

• an offer to help you access your pension savings before age 55;

• a recommendation to take a large amount of money, or your whole pension pot, in a lump sum and invest it;

• warnings that the deal is limited and you must act now;

• an encouragement not to get professional financial advice or talk to Pension Wise; and

• contact by somebody who is not on the Financial Conduct Authority register.

ruth.gillbe@ft.com