MPs want action to stop ‘cold-callers’ conning elderly out of savings

URGENT ACTION is needed to ban pensions cold calls to prevent people from being conned out of their life savings, according to a committee of MPs.

The Work and Pensions Select Committee also said people should be given guidance as a default option before they access their pension pot, unless they expressly opt out.

It said it welcomed a commitment made by the Government to banning pensions cold-calling, but said it should now take “urgent legislative action”, through the Financial Guidance and Claims Bill.

Under the committee’s proposals, an enforceable ban should be introduced by June 2018 at the latest.

A clause in the Bill would enable a ban on pensions cold calls, but it is flawed because it ties the ban to a new financial guidance body being set up, the committee said, which could delay the ban until 2020.

The committee said: “It is much more urgent than that. We recommend a new clause which would require the Government to introduce a ban by June 2018 at the latest.”

Committee chairman Frank Field said pensions are “rich pickings” for scammers offering overthe-top returns or seemingly clever advice.

He said: “Every day that passes without a ban, people are being avoidably conned out of their life savings. “There is no need to overcomplicate this: our proposal would see an enforceable ban in place by summer, closing at least one door on rafts of scammers at a stroke.”

A Treasury spokeswoman said: “We take the threat of pension scams very seriously and we’re already protecting savers.”