Could you spot a pension scam?

08 August 2025

Anne could - and so can you

Anne is 60 and looking forward to the next chapter of her life. As a deferred member of RWE Group, she is starting to explore options for taking her pension. She hopes to spend her time travelling, seeing friends and family and enjoying life to the full.

Like many people Anne is exploring her pension options online. She also knows to be alert to scammers, who can use fake websites, adverts on search engines, emails and even social media to lure people in.

Thankfully, Anne knows what to look out for. When she received an email with an opportunity that sounded too good to miss she paused and took the right steps to protect her pension.

Scammers use big promises to lure people in

The message Anne received promised: "Act fast! Special loophole to get access to your whole pension now, tax free, with high returns guaranteed."

At first glance, this may sound appealing to someone like Anne who might welcome extra spending money for her retirement plans. No tax and guaranteed returns seems like a good deal on the surface.

But Anne knows the rule: if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Accessing your pension: what’s safe and what’s a scam

Scammers try to exploit people by convincing them to move their pension savings into high-risk, unregulated investments or fraudulent pension schemes.

Accessing your pension early is only allowed in very specific circumstances, and must follow strict scheme rules and pension regulations. But scammers will often claim to be able to break the rules and allow you to access your entire pension, earlier than allowed, and tax free!

Transferring your pension into unregulated schemes or breaking the rules to access your money early can lead to heavy tax penalties, and in most cases, you won’t be protected if things go wrong.

How to spot a pension scam
Anne recognised the warning signs. Here are some of the most common red flags to watch out for:
Contact from a company that you have never heard of
Scammers often reach out unexpectedly, sometimes offering ‘free pension reviews’. But cold calls or unsolicited messages about pensions are not legal.
Pressure to act fast
You might be told there is a limited-time offer or you will miss out. This is a classic tactic to make you act without thinking.
Reference to ‘special loopholes’
Scammers often claim to know ways to get around pension scheme rules or regulations that dictate how and when you can take or transfer your pension.
Guaranteed or unusually high investment returns
All investments carry risk. Anything which promises guaranteed profits that are much higher than the stock market is almost certainly untrue.

How Anne protected herself

Anne stayed safe by taking a few simple steps:

Taking her time: she did not feel pressured to respond right away and did her own research first.
Not engaging with the message: she avoided clicking on any links or downloading attachments in case it was a malicious phishing email.
Researching the sender: she checked the FCA register and companies house to see if the company was legitimate and regulated.
Talking to the right people: she spoke to the administrator of RWE Group, Willis Towers Watson (WTW) to check the rules and what her genuine options were.
Following trusted guidance: she used MoneyHelper and Action Fraud to do her own research, then reported the attempted scam to Action Fraud.

Could you spot a scam?

Don’t wait until it happens – test your scam awareness now.

Try the Take Five to Stop Fraud quiz and see if you can tell what is a scam and what isn’t.