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1232974

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, with reference to the finding of the Financial Conduct Authority that pension scammers take on average £91,000 from each of their victims, what assessment her Department has made of additional protections required to protect UK pensioners (a) in the UK and (b) overseas from pension transfer scams.
tabling member constituency	Weaver Vale
tabling member printed	Mike Amesbury
uin	87643
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 22/09/2020 answer text <p>Action was taken by the Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, and Money Advice and Pension Service 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>All of Government is committed to safeguarding consumer savings amongst those based in the UK and living overseas with UK based pension savings. We have adopted a layered approach building from interventions to assist all pension savers seeking to access their pensions to those who are most at risk of scams.</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 with to take appropriate guidance (currently provided by MAPS under the Pension Wise brand) when they exercise their Pension Freedoms by applying to access savings. Recent trials showed a nudge to guidance during the application process is effective. We want to present taking guidance 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>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>To help protect people from pension scams, government has introduced an amendment to clause 125 in the Pension Schemes Bill 2020 limiting the statutory right to transfer The clause achieves two things:</p><p> </p><ul><li>it meets the Government’s third commitment in the Pension Scams consultation, namely to introduce in legislation provisions that enable members to be required to provide evidence of an employment link or, if transferring abroad, residency before a statutory transfer can take place; and</li><li>it enables legislation to require people to confirm they have received information or taken guidance about the risk of scams in certain circumstances before a transfer can proceed. We are and will continue to work with industry and regulators to identify the circumstances that cause trustees most concern when a transfer request is received and set those out in the legislation. Where any of these circumstances are identified we will require members seeking to transfer to confirm to trustees that they have obtained information or guidance on the risks of transfer to scam schemes.</li></ul><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> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 22/09/2020 12:31:04 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4667 label Biography information for Mike Amesbury

1233027

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential increase in pension scams since the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87524
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2020 answer text <p>Through Project Bloom, DWP works with other government departments, regulators, enforcement agencies and the pensions industry to monitor the evolution of scam typology and respond with a collective and coordinated response. Project Bloom is examining the range of measures that all agencies including providers and financial professionals could take to help prevent scams.</p><p> </p><p>At the onset of the covid-19 pandemic, the Department convened a cross-government and regulator group to closely monitor and respond to any increase in transfers and scams. The group includes DWP, HMT, both the Pensions Regulator and the FCA as well as the Money and Pensions Service and the Pension Ombudsman. This is supported by cross government and regulator gathering, monitoring and evaluating of data in order to develop as complete and robust a picture as possible. At this point the Department doesn’t yet have any robust evidence showing an increase in pension scams activity but will continue to monitor across the industry.</p><p> </p><p>In addition to active monitoring, 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 out the warning signs of a scam. A <a href="https://www.fca.org.uk/news/press-releases/covid-19-savers-stay-calm-dont-rush-financial-decisions" target="_blank">joint statement</a> was issued by The Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority, and Money Advice and Pension Service 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> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/09/2020 15:35:38 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1233030

registered interest
date	09/09/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, how many people have contacted Action Fraud on potential pension scams since the covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Crawley
tabling member printed	Henry Smith
uin	87526
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/09/2020 answer text <p>The Government continues to work with Regulators and the Police to prevent scams and this has continued during Covid-19. In the period March – July 2020, 116 reports of pension fraud were received by Action Fraud, compared to 179 for the same period in 2019.</p><p> </p><p>In recognition of the potential impact of Covid-19 on individual’s pensions savings the Department convened a cross-government and regulator group, to closely monitor and respond to any increase in transfers and scams. Regulators, Police and Action Fraud have confirmed that to date no evidence has emerged to demonstrate an increase in either transfers or scams, based on their internal monitoring of the industry. Although this is encouraging Government recognises it needs to continue to monitor and react to the changing environment.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 17/09/2020 11:08:01 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	3960 label Biography information for Henry Smith

1198415

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what steps her Department is taking to protect people from pension scams and fraud.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	51791
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>In these unprecedented times we are committed to protecting people from pension scams and fraud. DWP is working with other Government Departments, the Pension Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and other industry bodies to raise awareness and to monitor for evidence of an increase in pension related fraudster activity. We will continue to use evidence available, to identify what specific and proportionate measures may be necessary.</p><p> </p><p>Government has introduced measures to tackle pension scams following the December 2016 Pension Scams: Consultation <a href="https://www.gov.uk/government/consultations/pension-scams/pensions-scams-consultation" target="_blank">link</a>. These include making it harder to open fraudulent schemes from 2018, and legislating to introduce a ban on cold calling in relation to pensions in January 2019.</p><p> </p><p>DWP is also bringing forward legislation, through the Pension Schemes Bill which is currently passing through Parliament. These measures will give trustees’ assurance they will not be required to make statutory transfer, unless specified conditions are met.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><p>The PPF, in collaboration with regulators and pensions bodies, recently published a guide,’COVID-19 and your pension: where to get help’, which answers common pension concerns and helps individuals find the right support. This includes guidance for individuals who are concerned about pension scams.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.ppf.co.uk/covid-19-pensions" target="_blank">https://www.ppf.co.uk/covid-19-pensions</a></p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/06/2020 14:45:51 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 25867 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1198416

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of trends in the number of pension scams and fraud in each quarter of the last five years.
tabling member constituency	Ealing, Southall
tabling member printed	Mr Virendra Sharma
uin	51792
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>The Government is committed to protecting people from pension scams and fraud.</p><p> </p><p>The quarterly data on pension scams and fraud does not exist.</p><p> </p><p>Pensioners who suspect they have been a victim of a pension scam or fraud can report to Action Fraud, the national reporting centre for fraud and cyber-crime. The DWP works with Action Fraud and other members of the police led organisation Project Bloom, which is cross-government and works with industry to monitor and respond to pension frauds, update prevention and respond to these changes.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/06/2020 14:51:08 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman previous answer version 25869 answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	1604 label Biography information for Mr Virendra Sharma

1199085

registered interest
date	01/06/2020
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what assessment her Department has made of the potential increase in pension scams since the start of covid-19 outbreak.
tabling member constituency	Wallasey
tabling member printed	Ms Angela Eagle
uin	51610
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 09/06/2020 answer text <p>To assess and respond to the impacts of Covid-19 on the pension industry and pension savers, DWP has established a cross-government and regulator group and has been working with the pension industry to understand emerging impacts.</p><p> </p><p>This group is informed by a separate data monitoring group that co-ordinates the aggregation of data from a range of sources, including government, regulators and pension industry bodies, to identify trends including any increase in pension scams activity.</p><p> </p><p>Data received so far has revealed little evidence of an increase, however it may take time for impacts to materialise. We will of course continue to monitor the situation to assess if there has been any increase in pension scams activity as a result of the crisis.</p><p> </p><p>The PPF, in collaboration with regulators and pensions bodies, recently published a guide,’COVID-19 and your pension: where to get help’, which answers common pension concerns and helps individuals find the right support. This includes guidance for individuals who are concerned about pension scams.</p><p> </p><p><a href="https://www.ppf.co.uk/covid-19-pensions" target="_blank">https://www.ppf.co.uk/covid-19-pensions</a></p><p> </p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman question first answered 09/06/2020 12:53:00 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	491 label Biography information for Dame Angela Eagle

749703

registered interest
date	07/07/2017
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what plans he has to tackle pension scams; and if he will make a statement.
tabling member constituency	Solihull
tabling member printed	Julian Knight
uin	3625
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/07/2017 answer text <p>The Government takes the threat of pension scams very seriously.</p><p> </p><p>That is why the Government launched a consultation in December 2016 looking at three potential interventions to tackle this issue, including legislating to introduce a ban on cold calling in relation to pensions to help stop fraudsters contacting individuals and legislating to give firms new powers to block transfers. The government will publish a response to the consultation which will set out our intended next steps. This is a complex area that requires careful and detailed consultation with stakeholders.</p> answering member constituency Hexham answering member printed Guy Opperman grouped question UIN 3624 question first answered 17/07/2017 13:53:35 answering member 4142 label Biography information for Guy Opperman
tabling member	4410 label Biography information for Julian Knight

654519

registered interest
date	07/12/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, pursuant to the Answer of 1 December 2016 to Question 55219, for what reason he has not made an assessment of trends in the incidence of pension fraud in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK since the introduction of the pension freedoms announced in the Budget 2014.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	56585
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 12/12/2016 answer text <p>Data on reports of pension scams is collected via Action Fraud. However, the government, working with the City of London Police and other partners as part of Project Bloom, is aware that many scams in the UK, and the true extent of associated losses, go un-reported. The true extent of losses may also only become apparent some time after the initial report and increases in fraud reports could be due to a number of factors, for example increased industry reporting or rising awareness amongst the public due to high profile information campaigns.</p><p> </p><p>The Government takes the issue of pension scams very seriously, which is why, on 5 December 2016 we launched a public consultation on a package of measures aimed at tackling pension scams. This included a proposed definition of pension fraud to allow better monitoring and data collection on pension scams.</p><p> </p><p>The Government will continue to work closely with the City of London Police and other Project Bloom partners to help local forces and other agencies raise awareness on pension scams and encourage more people to report scamming activity and losses.</p><p> </p><p>The table below breaks down the location of the victim of reported pension scams collated by Action Fraud over the last two financial years.</p><p><strong> </strong></p><table><tbody><tr><td><p><strong>Location of victims of reported pension scams</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Financial year 2014/15</strong></p></td><td><p><strong>Financial year 2015/16 to date </strong></p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Scotland</p></td><td><p>27</p></td><td><p>17</p></td></tr><tr><td><p>Rest of the UK</p></td><td><p>921</p></td><td><p>446</p></td></tr></tbody></table> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 12/12/2016 15:40:43 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

647093

registered interest
date	28/11/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent assessment he has made of trends in the incidence of pension fraud in (a) Scotland and (b) the UK since the introduction of the pension freedoms announced in the Budget 2014.
tabling member constituency	Edinburgh South
tabling member printed	Ian Murray
uin	55219
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 01/12/2016 answer text <p>The government takes the threat of pension scams very seriously, and is committed to protecting people by helping them to avoid putting their money into scams and by pursuing fraudsters wherever possible.</p><p>It is for this reason that the Government established Project Bloom, a multi-department, multi-agency group of officials to help co-ordinate action to tackle scams, monitor trends and share intelligence on emerging threats. Members include the National Crime Agency, police forces, Pension Wise, regulators and key Government departments.</p><p>However, the government recognises that more needs to be done. We have heard the concerns raised that the pension freedoms may make people more vulnerable to scams involving their pension savings and that is why we have taken positive action and announced, at autumn statement, that we will consult on a package of measures aimed at tackling 3 different areas of pensions scams:</p><ul><li>a ban on cold calling in relation to pensions to help stop fraudsters contacting individuals;<br></li><li>limiting the statutory right to transfer to some occupational pension schemes, and <br></li><li>making it harder for fraudsters to open small pension schemes</li></ul><p>The intention is that the consultation will be launched before Christmas; and next steps will be announced at Budget 2017</p><p> </p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 01/12/2016 15:35:24 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	3966 label Biography information for Ian Murray

600790

registered interest
date	12/10/2016
answering body	Department for Work and Pensions
answering dept id	29
answering dept short name	Work and Pensions
answering dept sort name	Work and Pensions
hansard heading	Pensions: Fraud
house id	1
legislature	25259 pref label House of Commons
question text	To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what discussions he has had with the Pensions Ombudsman on how that body investigates instances of suspected fraudulent documents being received from pension trustees.
tabling member constituency	Oldham East and Saddleworth
tabling member printed	Debbie Abrahams
uin	48381
answer	answer is ministerial correction date of answer 17/10/2016 answer text <p>The Pensions Ombudsman is an independent statutory Commissioner and the conduct of his investigations is solely a matter for him. He has advised the Department that instances of suspected fraudulent documents would be dealt with on a case-by-case basis. The Pensions Ombudsman’s general approach would be to look for evidence to support a claim that a document is fraudulent and would consider holding an oral hearing to assist him in this regard.</p> answering member constituency Watford answering member printed Richard Harrington question first answered 17/10/2016 13:30:25 answering member 4068 label Biography information for Lord Harrington of Watford
tabling member	4212 label Biography information for Debbie Abrahams