Pension Scams UK — How to Spot Fraud and Protect Your Retirement Savings

Pension scams are among the most devastating financial crimes in the UK. Victims typically lose their entire life savings — an average of £50,000 per victim. Fraudsters use sophisticated tactics and personal data to target people approaching retirement.

How Pension Scammers Find Their Victims

Pension fraudsters purchase personal data from data broker websites — including age, estimated income and employment history — to identify people approaching retirement age with likely pension savings. They then make targeted approaches by phone, email or post.

Cold calls about pensions were banned in the UK in 2019. If you receive an unsolicited call about your pension it is illegal and almost certainly a scam.

The Most Common Pension Scams

Pension Liberation Fraud

Fraudsters offer to help you access your pension before age 55 — promising to unlock your pension early for a fee. This is illegal in most circumstances and results in massive HMRC tax penalties of up to 55% of the pension value — on top of losing the money to the scammer.

Fake Pension Transfer Schemes

You are contacted about transferring your pension to a better scheme promising higher returns. The new scheme is fake and your pension disappears. Always verify any pension scheme on the FCA register before transferring.

Overseas Investment Schemes

Fraudsters pitch exotic overseas investments — hotels, care homes, renewable energy — promising guaranteed high returns. The investments do not exist or are dramatically overvalued.

Red Flags to Watch For

How to Protect Your Pension

1. Always check the FCA register — before transferring or investing your pension verify the adviser at register.fca.org.uk. Unregistered advisers cannot legally give pension advice in the UK.

2. Check the FCA Warning List — visit fca.org.uk/scamsmart to check if a firm has been flagged as a scam.

3. Get independent advice — MoneyHelper offers free impartial pension guidance at moneyhelper.org.uk or call 0800 011 3797.

4. Pension Wise — if you are over 50 with a defined contribution pension you are entitled to a free Pension Wise appointment to get impartial guidance.

5. Remove your personal data — pension scammers identify targets using data broker sites. Silent Erase removes your data from 500+ sites automatically.