It is not often a pension issue matter features on the televised evening news, but when it does it is usually for the wrong reasons.
Grave concerns were raised this month following the criminal conviction of two fraudsters for their part in a pension scam in which
245 individuals were persuaded to transfer from legitimate occupational schemes and ruinously give the fraudsters control of their pension savings.
Much of these pension savings are now unlikely to be recovered, having been misappropriated. The sums involved here were not insignificant, amounting to £13.7 million in total. The devastating impact on the victims was best described by the judge when handing down his judgment as: “People who worked hard, saved for their future, and have been robbed of their financial security”.
Unfortunately, this is not an isolated instance. The cost of fraud generally to the UK is in the billions rather than millions – during 2020, Action Fraud reported £3 billion in losses across both individuals and organisations.
The relatively high value of pension savings and the fact that many people do not typically engage with their savings until later in life
makes them a particularly attractive target for fraudsters.
Fraud by its definition involves deception. But, as pensions can appear complex to the layperson, fraudsters often see this as a perfect disguise for their dishonest schemes. So, when it comes to your pension savings, it is worth…
