• A quarter (26%) of UK adults have received a contact such as a cold call about their pension – two thirds of these have been contacted in the last six months
• Three fifths (59%) said they were approached via a telephone call, 25% via email and 20% via letter with some receiving more than one form of communication
• 7% have released some or all of their pension as cash as a result of this contact
• Three fifths (61%) wouldn’t report pensions cold calls, primarily as they didn’t know they could

Concerned that pension savings are an increasing target for fraudsters, the Phoenix Group, the UK’s largest specialist consolidator of closed life funds, commissioned research¹ to uncover the extent of pension scams in the UK. To date, Phoenix has prevented around £30 million of potentially fraudulent pension transfers.

According to the research:

• Over a quarter (26%) of UK adults have received messages, calls, letters or have been approached by someone asking if they want to review their pension, or release some as cash, the majority of these people (almost two thirds) have been contacted in the last six months.
• This has risen from a fifth (22%) of people having been cold called about their pensions, when Phoenix carried out a comparative research study² in September 2015.
• The most common method of being contacted for this reason is by telephone (59%) followed by email (25%), by letter (20%) and by text message (12%).

Philip Kline, Intelligence and Investigations Manager at Phoenix, explains: “Fraudsters use a myriad of methods to reach and trick their victims, including face to face contact, online marketing, texting, social media and email. To properly tackle this and significantly reduce the amount of pensions-related fraud, Phoenix believes that the Government’s proposal to ban pension cold calling should be extended to include all forms of electronic communications such as email and text messaging.”

In the research Phoenix also asked respondents how they had reacted to being cold contacted. A worrying 7% of UK adults said that they had released some or all of their pension savings as cash as a result of this contact. A further 14% said that they had contacted the person or organisation sending the message, while a further 15% had considered doing so.

When asked how they would report potentially fraudulent cold contact, it is very concerning that three fifths of adults (61%) said that they wouldn’t report it, and over 70% of these adults said this is because they didn’t know that they could or should report cold contacts officially. Of those that said they would report it, reporting to their pension provider (14%), to Action Fraud (12%) and to Pension Wise (9%) were the most popular responses.

Philip Kline continues: “Fraud is growing in the pension industry and fraudsters’ methods are constantly evolving to take advantage of the new freedoms and economic trends to target pension savers. Phoenix further argues that reporting fraud needs to be simple, quick and easy, and that consumers should be given greater education on the risks of fraud to ensure that they are able to better protect themselves.”

¹ 2,002 online interviews with UK adults, weighted to reflect a nationally representative audience, carried out by Opinium Research from 16 to 19 December 2016
² 2,007 online interviews with UK adults, weighted to reflect a nationally representative audience, carried out by Opinium Research from 25 to 29 September 2015

Phoenix recommends that consumers follow these tips to avoid being a victim of fraud:

1. Don’t allow yourself to be pressured into making a decision quickly. Pressure to make quick decisions may well increase the chance of you making a poor decision and is also an indicator of suspicious activity.
2. Think about the contact you have received. Is this how the company usually contacts you? Would your pension provider really text you about a financial opportunity? Think about whether it's sensible for the company to make contact in that way. Phoenix would not contact its customers in this way.
3. Do you need to pay up front? You should never have to pay to access funds that are yours.
4. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Sometimes an offer may be articulated in a way that will not arouse suspicion. Think very carefully about the risks.
5. Be wary of any offers to access your pension early, especially before the age of 55. Ignore any unsolicited contact you receive on the subject - this could be via phone, text message, online, in person or the post. Watch out for elaborate sounding investments, particularly those based overseas. Check the FCA ScamSmart warning list for known investment scams. http://scamsmart.fca.org.uk/
6. Don’t hand over personal data until you know the company you are dealing with is regulated. If you have already done this and are concerned about how it might be used, contact your provider who can add additional security levels to provide further protection.
7. If you are unsure, you can call Pension Wise on 0800 138 3944, The Pensions Advisory Service on 0300 123 1047 or the Citizens Advice consumer service on 03454 04 05 06. To report suspected fraud you can call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or visit http://www.actionfraud.police.uk.

-Ends-

Enquiries

Shellie Wells
Head of Corporate Communications
Phoenix Group
020 3735 0922/07872 414 137
shellie.wells@thephoenixgroup.com

Lorna Russell
Lansons
020 7294 3609
LornaR@lansons.com

Notes to editors

The Phoenix Group is the UK’s largest specialist consolidator of closed life and pension funds with over 6.1 million policyholders and £74 billion of assets held by the Group’s life companies, including the acquired AXA Wealth, SunLife and Abbey Life businesses.