Pension scheme operators urged to do more to stop scam transfers

The trustees of 14 pension schemes have received a joint letter from The Pensions Regulator (TPR), The Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Advisory Service (TPAS), urging them to do more to stop potential scam pension transfers and protect their members.

The letter included one that should be forwarded on to scheme members who request transfers, to make them more aware of the dangers of pension scams.

Freedom Of Information request

New Model Adviser placed a Freedom Of Information request to obtain the information that 12 schemes had originally been contacted over pension transfer concerns, but the number is now 14.

The 14 pension schemes have all been marked as pensions that have “speculation or uncertainty” about their future.

This is not uncommon, with many companies closing their Final Salary pension schemes to new members in an effort to tackle deficits.

Fear tactics

In many cases, this speculation and uncertainty has meant that greedy financial advisers have been drumming up fear in scheme members, in order to get them to transfer their final salary pensions away.

Moving a final salary pension scheme is rarely the right choice for the individual, giving up irreplaceable benefits such as a practically guaranteed income in retirement that keeps pace with inflation.

Some of the fear tactics used by advisers were present in the recent British Steel Pension Transfers fiasco, in which many advisers had their permissions to give DB pension transfer advice revoked by the authorities.

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Spencer Churchill Claims Advice are specialists in mis-sold pension cases, including claims for mis-sold final salary pension transfers.