UK’s financial conduct authority warns that overconfidence could lose a person their entire pension within just 24 hours.
According to its latest study, which was created in connection with The Pensions Regulator, it could take a saver 22 years to amass a pension pot of £82,000 – the average amount victims of scams lost in 2018. The FCA has found that 24% of people it surveyed, admitted they took 24 hours or less to decide on a pension offer, which it believes is potentially too short a time to notice signs of a scam.
It went on to state that 63% of respondents were confident in making pension decisions and the same percentage would trust someone offering pension advice out of nowhere.
Another finding from the research is that highly educated people are more likely to fall victim of a scam. Individuals with a university degree are 40% more likely to accept a free pension review from a company they’ve never interacted with before and 21% more likely to accept the offer of early access to their pensions.
FCA executive director of enforcement and market oversight Mark Steward said, “We know many people have big plans for their retirement, whether it’s seeing new places, learning new skills or helping their families out financially.
“Pension scammers destroy those dreams, often forever. So be ScamSmart. Reject unsolicited approaches offering ‘help’ with your pension and get advice from an FCA authorised firm before making big changes to your pension fund. Make sure your lifetime savings stay yours.”
The UK regulator has warned consumers to get to know the signs of a scam, reject any unexpected offers made online, over the phone or social media, check the FCA register, seek impartial advice and take time when making decisions.
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