Recommendation 14

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.