Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:

To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment he has made of the relationship between levels of pension financial literacy and vulnerability to pension fraud.

In 2023, the Behavioural Insights Team within the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS) conducted a scams evidence review which found that victims of pension fraud do not fall into easily defined demographic groups and that anyone can be targeted. To mitigate this, a range of measures are in place to raise awareness and reduce risk. These include the Financial Conduct Authority’s ScamSmart tool which highlights areas of potential risk, and the detailed guidance provided by MaPS through MoneyHelper, which offers practical steps to identify and avoid pension scams. Additional safeguards are provided by the pension transfer regulations which empower trustees to pause or refuse a transfer where there are indicators of potential scam activity.