Source · Select Committees · Work and Pensions Committee
Recommendation 14
14
Paragraph: 61
The Pension Schemes Act 2021 will allow people’s statutory right to transfer from their pension...
Recommendation
The Pension Schemes Act 2021 will allow people’s statutory right to transfer from their pension scheme to be restricted where there are signs of a pension scam. Regulations will be developed by DWP and are expected to be in place later this year. This will be a significant step in preventing pension transfer scams. Pension scheme trustees will be required to check if a transfer showed signs of a pension scam before allowing it to take place. If a trustee, through a lack of due diligence, allowed a transfer to a scheme which showed signs of being a scam then we believe that the Pensions Ombudsman must be able to require the scheme to compensate the victim. We recommend that a review of the legislation should be published within 18 months of the regulations being operational. If there are any concerns about the operation of the policy this will allow legislative changes to be made during this Parliament.
Paragraph Reference:
61
Government Response
Acknowledged
HM Government
Acknowledged
The Government believes that it is important that online platform operators take responsibility for the financial promotions they pass on. As part of our departure from the European Union (EU), the Government removed an exemption to the financial promotions regime available to online platforms for incoming electronic communications from the EU. As a result, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) is looking at the operations of the major online platforms to determine whether their communication of financial promotions is subject to the financial promotion restriction and, if so, whether they are compliant. Where they are not, the FCA will take action to ensure consumers are protected. HM Treasury will support the FCA in these conversations going forward, as part of the Government’s ongoing efforts to protect consumers from fraud online. As noted on page 2, the Government is engaging with the tech industry to agree next steps for developing a more effective cross-sector response to online fraud.