One in ten pensioners have been targeted by fraudsters
11/02/2015
One in ten pensioners in the UK have been the victim of financial scams during their retirement, research from MetLife shows.
Insurance company Metlife found from a nationwide study that 9% of retirees have been targeted by financial fraudsters or have fallen victim to financial scams since they stopped work. Those in certain parts of the country are more likely to be targeted too, with the figure rising to 14% among retired people in the South West.
The scams range from tricking people into revealing their bank details, to selling dodgy investment and pension schemes.
HMRC have recently announced that they will tighten regulations for pension scheme administrators from April this year as part of its clampdown on pension scams. Despite this, there are still fears that the new pension reforms will create an easy environment for fraudsters to con pensioners out of their money.
Dominic Grinstead, Managing Director, MetLife UK, said:
“Pension flexibility offers the UK the chance to create a world-leading retirement saving system and to ensure that people have more comfortable retirements.
“Unfortunately it is also providing opportunities for fraudsters who already see retired people as potential targets as shown by the fact that so many have been subjected to scams.
“Independent advice on retirement options can help people become better informed and more able to see through fraudsters."
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