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The government has made changes to pensions tax under new legislation introduced on 6 April 2024.  One of the main changes was the abolition of the Lifetime Allowance (LTA) regime.  These changes may affect the way you take your benefits and the amount of tax you will pay.

Scams can be hard to spot and are often disguised with credible websites, recommendations and professional looking documents.

 

Follow these simple steps to help protect from scammers:

 

1.       Reject ‘too good to be true’ offers that come out of the blue.  Cold calling is illegal and an offer of a free pension review is almost certainly a scam.

 

2.       Check that who you are dealing with is on the FCA register at register.fca.org.uk and contact the firm directly.  Call 0800 111 6768 to check they are authorised to give pension advice and check www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart for known scams.  If you don’t use an FCA-authorised firm, you’re unlikely to be able to access compensation schemes if anything goes wrong.

 

3.       Don’t be rushed or pressured to act quickly; time-limited offers are likely to be a scam.

 

4.       Get free independent, impartial information and guidance from www.pensionsadvisoryservice.org.uk or contact an independent financial adviser; you can find one at www.moneyhelper.org.uk.

 

Use the online reporting form on the ScamSmart site or on 0800 111 6768. 

You can also report it to Action Fraudon 0300 123 2040 or at www.actionfraud.police.uk.

 

Be ScamSmart with your pension.  To find out more, visit www.fca.org.uk/scamsmart.