Pledge To Combat Pension Scams
The Pension Regulator and PSIG are urging pension providers, trustees and administrators to help protect savers who wish to transfer out of their scheme or are thinking of accessing cash from it, by raising awareness of the risks, educating themselves about current and emerging scam tactics and protecting members with appropriate due diligence. The Regulator has launched a campaign, supported by PSIG, to help stop scammers in their tracks.
Organisations are asked to pledge to combat pension scams and to commit to following these 6 key principles (set out in the PSIG Code):
- regularly warn members about pension scams
- encourage members asking for cash drawdown to get impartial guidance from The Pensions Advisory Service
- get to know the warning signs of a scam and best practice for transfers by completing the scams module in the Trustee Toolkit and encouraging all relevant staff or trustees to do so; studying and using the resources on the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) ScamSmart website, our scams information and the PSIG code; considering becoming a member of the Pension Scams Industry Forum by contacting PSIG
- take appropriate due diligence measures by carrying out checks on pension transfers and documenting pension transfer procedures
- clearly warning members if they insist on high-risk transfers being paid
- report concerns about a scam to the authorities and communicate this to the scheme member.
To publicly Pledge to Combat Pensions Scams, organisations can sign up on the TPR webpage by clicking on the pledge image below:
