How do I protect myself against pension scams?

Question:
How do I protect myself against pension scams?
Answer:

Pension scams, where people may be tricked into handing over their pension pots by scammers, are on the increase. Millions of people fall victim to scams every year. The tactics used by pension scammers to encourage people to transfer their pension savings to them are constantly changing.

Some of the tactics include:

  • offering free pension reviews, health checks and promises of better returns on your savings
     
  • pension loans
     
  • upfront cash
     
  • other promotions to tempt you

Most of these are bogus.

However, once you've transferred your money into a scam, it's too late. You could end up losing all your pensions savings and in some cases face a tax bill of up to 55%.