Pension liberation scammers have stolen more than £9 million from retirement savers since April, according to police figures.
That’s twice the amount that went missing in the same period last year and coincides with the start of new pension freedoms in the UK that allow retirement savers to take their pension cash to spend how they like.
The research by City of London Police also reveals the average amount lost to fraudsters each month is increasing.
Although the number of reports is decreasing, police warn that this is because scammers have switched tactics and try to tempt retirement savers to bank their pension funds in risky investments.
Risky investments
“Huge numbers of cold calls, texts and emails are going out to lure pension savers into fraudulent schemes aimed at charging high commissions and relieving them of as much of their cash as the scammers can get,” said a City of London Police spokesman.
A separate survey by consumer watchdog Citizens Advice revealed that 40% of pension savers over 55 years old had been contacted by a pension liberation scammer at least once about switching their money to risky investments – while some were bombarded with hard-sell telephone calls.
Pension liberation is the term for when the under 55s are conned out of handing over their pension funds on the promise of releasing cash but without being warned of high fees, risky investment choices and tax penalties that may be due.
Tax penalties imposed by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) on pension liberation transactions start at 55% of the value of the fund transferred.
Reporting a pension liberation scam – contact Action Fraud
Pension Liberation – Losses Month by Month
| Month Reported | Reports | Loss |
| Sep-13 | 124 | £1,587,916.37 |
| Oct-13 | 133 | £1,643,800.14 |
| Nov-13 | 88 | £620,787.70 |
| Dec-13 | 93 | £371,594.73 |
| Jan-14 | 59 | £449,236.87 |
| Feb-14 | 120 | £383,685.66 |
| Mar-14 | 55 | £566,224.24 |
| Apr-14 | 205 | £1,398,586.89 |
| May-14 | 57 | £812,952.04 |
| Jun-14 | 132 | £588,350.70 |
| Jul-14 | 189 | £1,131,950.78 |
| Aug-14 | 296 | £542,406.39 |
| Sep-14 | 179 | £966,766.48 |
| Oct-14 | 160 | £1,569,281.11 |
| Nov-14 | 89 | £566,653.45 |
| Dec-14 | 95 | £239,174.07 |
| Jan-15 | 186 | £1,471,035.25 |
| Feb-15 | 240 | £631,202.44 |
| Mar-15 | 82 | £931,800.08 |
| Apr-15 | 78 | £1,452,336.35 |
| May-15 | 78 | £4,719,523.54 |
| Jun-15 | 85 | £488,319.91 |
| Jul-15 | 74 | £1,256,236.75 |
| Aug-15 | 50 | £1,171,968.00 |
| TOTAL: | 2,947 | £25,561,789.94 |
| TWO-YEAR AVERAGE: | 122.79 | £1,065,074.58 |
| ONE-YEAR AVERAGE: | 116.33 | £1,288,691.45 |
| POST-FREEDOM AVERAGE: | 73.00 | £1,817,676.91 |
Source: City of London Police
