Avoiding Pension Scams

03 September 2015

Over-55s are the targets of repeated cold-calling and email scams offering fake pension opportunities.

To stand the best chance of avoiding falling prey to a pension scam, individuals need to be aware of the common signs of fraudulent deals:

• any offer of a free service by an organisation or individual you have no previous relationship with
• a rate of return that is substantially higher than those offered by other investors or products
• feeling pressured into making a decision
• being offered the chance to access your pension before the age of 55.

The emerging scams highlighted by Citizens Advice are:

• fake financial products where the fraudster promises to invest a pension pot for a high return
• cold calls offering free pension reviews that require access to the victim's pension
• pension cash investment schemes for assets like overseas property or fine wines.

Gillian Guy, chief executive of Citizens Advice, said:

"Pension scams threaten people’s financial security. People are targeted again and again with bogus investment offers or fraudulent pension opportunities."

Should require some advice on pensions you can speak to Sam Park or Shane O'Dowd in our Taxation team