Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask Mr Chancellor of the Exchequer, what reports he has received of frauds designed to take advantage of new pensions flexibilities; and what steps he is taking to protect savers from such frauds.

Monitoring the market for scams and misselling is the responsibility of the regulators, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the Pensions Regulator. The FCA, in line with its remit to protect consumers and ensure markets function in consumers’ interests, has specifically committed to monitoring developments in the retirement income market closely and to take action where consumers are coming to harm or where the market is not operating competitively. The Government remains in close contact with the regulators, and other organisations such as industry trade bodies, on these issues.

The FCA recently launched a new high-profile consumer awareness campaign around investment scams, ScamSmart, and the FCA and the Pensions Regulator, along with a number of other relevant organisations, have undertaken a joint publicity campaign to improve consumer awareness of pension scams.

It is important that the Government supports this work and Pension Wise was launched to help people understand their options when taking advantage of the pension freedoms, including how to spot and avoid scams.