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<p>Government is committed to safeguarding the savings of consumers based in the UK
and people living overseas with UK based savings. Although the majority of transfers
are to safe destinations there are still fraudsters who try to entice individuals
to transfer to schemes for the purposes of relieving them of their pension savings.</p><p>
</p><p>To help protect people from pension scams, clause 125 in the Pensions Schemes
Bill 2020 will allow government to introduce measures to limit the statutory right
to transfer. The clause achieves many things and reference is made to all the parliamentary
responses on this topic for the details. However, in summary:</p><p> </p><ol><li>it
introduces in legislation provisions that require members to provide evidence of an
employment link or, if transferring abroad, residency before a statutory transfer
can take place; and</li></ol><p> </p><ol start="2"><li>it will remove the right to
transfer if certain circumstances (red flags) are identified by the trustee or scheme
administrator. For other prescribed circumstances people will be required to confirm
they have received information or taken guidance about the risk of scams before a
transfer can proceed. We are and will continue to work with industry and regulators
to identify these circumstances. This means that trustees will have the power to refuse
a transfer if the red flags occur or an individual has not taken guidance. The regulator
will oversee the operation of these new requirements.</li></ol><p><strong> </strong></p><p>Regulators
and trustees also have a broader role to play in scam prevention. The Pension Regulator,
Financial Conduct Authority, and Money Advice and Pension Service issued information
on 7 April pointing to the actions members should seek to take to safeguard against
becoming victims of scams. Additional guidance was issued to trustees, and providers
from both The Financial Conduct Authority and the Pensions Regulator to support them
to produce suitable communications during the Covid-19 outbreak.</p><p> </p><p>Please
see links below for more information about the joint statement from Regulators and
the Money Advice Service, and help available, produced by the Pension Protection Fund
and supported by government.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/covid-19-savers-stay-calm-dont-rush-financial-decisions"
target="_blank">https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/covid-19-savers-stay-calm-dont-rush-financial-decisions</a></p><p>
</p><p><a href="https://www.ppf.co.uk/sites/default/files/file-2020-05/COVID-19-and-your-pension.pdf"
target="_blank">https://www.ppf.co.uk/sites/default/files/file-2020-05/COVID-19-and-your-pension.pdf</a></p><p>
</p><p>In addition, the Government, working with the regulators and the Money and
Pension Service, has been communicating with pension savers to alert them to the risk
of scams in the current climate. DWP continues to communicate regularly on social
media about the warning signs of a scam.</p><p> </p><p>We have adopted an approach
that not only safeguards against pension scams but assists all pension savers seeking
to access their pensions.</p><p> </p><p>For all pension savers aged 50 and over, in
the lead up to accessing their pension savings, our aim is to support them make informed
choices about their retirement income. We are therefore committed to replicating measures
introduced by the FCA for contract based schemes for occupational pension schemes
and requiring trustees to provide information to pensions savers from the age of 50,
in a simpler format, to encourage savers to think about their retirement savings,
choices and raise awareness of Pension Wise.</p><p> </p><p>We want to encourage savers
to take appropriate guidance via Pension Wise when they apply to access savings. We
want to present taking guidance or advice as a natural part of the journey when individuals
access their pension savings. We are working with the FCA on rules that would require
managers of private pension schemes to Introduce parallel provisions.</p><p> </p><p>The
Government is committed to safeguarding consumer savings and continues to raise public
awareness of scams through ongoing communications directly from DWP and with other
organisations.</p><p> </p><p>DWP continues to communicate regularly on social media
to set out the warning signs of a scam and has made multiple posts referencing Pension
Scams and #ScamSmart in total across Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn in the period
March to September 2020.</p><p> </p><p>In addition, Pensions Dashboards will help
more people actively manage their pension savings and plan for their retirement, and
this will include making decisions about pension consolidation, particularly for deferred
defined contribution pots. Initial dashboards will enable a user to find and view
their pension savings in one place. Future functionality will be informed by user
research and testing, and consumer protection will be a primary concern in this decision
making.</p>
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