Government to ban cold calling to protect pensioners from scams

The UK government has outlined its plans to combat pension scams in a consultation report on Monday as reports show that fraudsters had collected nearly £5m out of pensioners between January and May alone.

Proposals made by ministers include a ban on cold calls, emails and text messages related to pensions to be enforced by the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) and tougher HMRC regulations on the transfer of money between occupational pension schemes and fraudulent ones.

The proposals would also see the government attacking scammers head-on by ensuring that only companies with active, regular and up-to-date financials would be able to register pension schemes.

Trustees of pension funds are now required to confirm that the receiving scheme is regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), has an active employment link with the individual, or is an authorised master trust to stop the average of nearly £15,000 conned out of each victim.

The minister for pensions and financial inclusion, Guy Opperman, said, "Today’s figures highlight the extent to which people’s savings are being targeted and stolen through elaborate hoaxes – leaving them with little opportunity to build up their savings again. That is why we are introducing tough new measures for those who scam.

"If people have saved for a private pension, we want to protect them. This is the biggest lifesaving that individuals normally make over many years of hard work.

"By tackling these scammers, people should know that cold calling, apart from exceptional circumstances, is banned."

Former pensions minister Baroness Altman suggested that while a ban on cold calling would not stop scammers from making unsolicited calls, it would "send a strong signal to the public that if someone contacts them out of the blue to discuss their pension, they should just hang up. If they receive unsolicited texts or emails, just delete them."

The new safeguards would exempt cases where consumers had expressed an interest in a firm and those where an existing client relationship exists.