New guidance on pension scam reporting

A guide for trustees and the wider pensions industry on reporting pension scams has been produced by the Pensions Regulator, the Financial Conduct Authority and Action Fraud.

The guide covers what information should be included in a report, who the report should be sent to and what will happen once the report has been submitted.

Reports are recommended if:

• You believe a scam has already happened.
• A red flag is raised when making a transfer.
• You suspect a pension scam could be taking place (e.g. due to amber flags in a transfer request).
• You feel you have to refuse a statutory transfer payment even though all the requirements are met but you consider the warning signs of a scam to be too strong to be comfortable with proceeding.

A recap of the red and amber flags contained in the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Conditions for Transfers) Regulations 2021 is included in the guide.