Select committee: Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 9
Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams
Published 28 Mar 2021
Paragraph 37
Addressed to Department for Work and Pensions
Work and Pensions Committee Protecting pension savers – five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams All items in this report Report on parliament.uk ↗ Inquiry on parliament.uk ↗
Recommendation (the committee's words)
We heard repeatedly about a worrying trend of secondary scammers—scammers targeting people who have already been the victim of a pension scam. People who have not reported their case to an appropriate body—or who have done so but not received appropriate warnings—may be unaware of the risk that secondary scammers pose. It can take many years before a person realises that they have been scammed. Once they do realise, if they do not seek the right help they are at risk of falling prey to secondary scammers. We recommend that the Pensions Regulator and the Financial Conduct Authority should use their scams awareness campaign, ScamSmart, to warn of the risk of secondary scammers.
From: Work and Pensions Committee, Fifth report: Protecting pension savers—five years on from the pension freedoms: Pension scams (HC 648), paragraph 37, 28 March 2021
Government response
The government responded to the whole report on 6 July 2021 (deadline 28 May 2021).
Summary written by Accountability Index from the government's response. It is not the government's own words.The Government "notes" the Committee's report, says it takes the recommendations "very seriously", and states it has "agreed with many of the recommendations from the outset" while it will "continue to look closely at the remaining recommendations".
- On the red and amber flag system for pension transfers, the Government agrees that the policy should be reviewed and that the flags' suitability forms part of that review, but "cannot" guarantee any legislative changes could be made "during this Parliament".
- It does not agree that inclusion on the FCA warning list should itself be a red flag, saying the Pension Schemes Act 2021 does not give powers "to use a third parties list or determination".
- It declines additional reporting by the City of London Police to Parliament on Action Fraud, saying it is "unnecessary" and oversight "should remain with the Government".
- The Government is "committed to publishing a comprehensive Fraud Action Plan after this year's Spending Review", but "cannot commit" to publishing details of its coordination with the Treasury.