Pensions - Articles - One in four people could be at risk of a pension scam

 Around one in four people could be at potential risk of a pension scam, reveals helpandadvice.co.uk, following analysis of the highest ever number of its Pension Scam Assessments (as recommended by Money Helper, provided by the government’s Money & Pensions Service ‘MaPS’) completed between January and March 2023.

 The average scam likelihood score was 25%, meaning that of the 1562 people that completed the assessment, a quarter of cases had associated red flags. While a red flag does not guarantee a definite scam, it does mean further investigation is needed. Having tracked the data for over a year, helpandadvice.co.uk has found that the potential likelihood of a scam consistently remains at around 25%.

 Almost one in five (17%) of people were told that they could achieve higher investment returns should they transfer, perhaps in response to the market volatility seen in Q4 of 2022. Pushing people to make a quick decision is often a red flag, and 15% of people experienced this. Nearly one in 10 (9%) were told the adviser knew of loopholes to access higher levels of tax-free cash, a substantial increase on the previous quarter where only 2% were told this.

 The Full Results

 A full breakdown of the results for 2022 and Q1 2023 can be found here -