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<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>
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