Field fears pension freedoms give licence to ‘scam artists’
CONCERNS THAT savers could be at risk of scams as people take up the new pension freedoms are being probed by MPs.
The Commons Work and Pensions Committee is launching an inquiry into whether the pension reforms are working and if changes are needed.
It wants to know if enough is being done to prevent scams and mis-selling.
The 2015 freedoms give the over-55s a much wider range of choices over how they use their retirement savings.
But the committee said police figures show that more than £43m of retirement savings have been lost to fraud since the policy was announced.
It also highlighted recent warnings that an anti-scammer kitemark is being used fraudulently by some.
For many people the choice of what to do with their pension savings in preparation for retirement will be the biggest financial decision they make, the MPs said.
But research suggests people are making choices without the support available.
Of people aged 55 and over planning to retire in the next two years, just seven per cent used the free and impartial Pension Wise guidance service.
Chairman Frank Field said: “It is vital that adequate support ensures people are equipped to ensure they don’t make decisions they subsequently regret.
“I am particularly concerned that savers are more vulnerable than ever to unscrupulous scam artists. This policy must not become the freedom to liberate people of their savings.”
Sir Steve Webb, a former pensions minister who played a key role in a string of pensions reforms, said the new freedoms have been “overwhelmingly positive”.
He continued: “But the select committee is right to look into ways that the operation of the freedoms could be improved.”
A Department for Work and Pensions spokesman said: “It is important that savers are aware of the risks of fraud and seek proper guidance before accessing their money.
“Alongside the guidance provided by Pension Wise our proposed new measures to ban pensions cold-calling will ensure that savers are protected from the threat of pension scammers.”
Pension providers will be obliged to highlight guidance and advice under proposed Government reforms. A GOVERNMENT Minister has praised the work done by Yorkshire charity workers to help Syrian refugees find employment.
Immigration Minister Caroline Nokes visited Bradford yesterday to meet Syrian refugees on the path to finding work with the help of World Jewish Relief.
World Jewish Relief has been working for the past two years with refugees from Syria to help them find employment across Yorkshire and in Coventry.
Its Specialist Training and Employment Programme helps refugees to identify and overcome the challenges to finding work.
It provides English language classes and help with presentation, CV and interview skills. Since it began, the programme has worked with 250 refugees and 66 have found work in sectors including retail, hair and beauty and the construction industry.
Ms Nokes said: “Helping refugees find work is vitally important for effective resettlement and in building strong integrated communities.”
In 2015, former Prime Minister David Cameron set the target of resettling 20,000 refugees from the Syrian war.