Pension Scam Claims — Were You a Victim of Pension Fraud or Cold Calling?
Nadeem Pervazis a solicitor at Edward & Amaury Solicitors, a law firm authorised and regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority. Content is reviewed for legal accuracy and compliance with FCA guidance and SRA conduct standards.
TL;DR — Quick Summary
- ▸Pension scams typically involve cold calling, promises of high returns, or early access — followed by a transfer into a SIPP holding high-risk or fraudulent investments.
- ▸If a regulated financial adviser or SIPP operator was involved in facilitating the transfer, they may be liable even if the underlying investment was a fraud.
- ▸Claims can be brought via FOS (if the firm is still trading), FSCS (if the firm has failed), or legal proceedings.
- ▸Cold calling about pensions has been illegal since 2019 — if you were cold-called before then and lost money, this may support a claim.
- ▸Report suspected scams to Action Fraud and the FCA — but also take legal advice on a compensation claim.
Pension scams have cost UK savers hundreds of millions of pounds over the past two decades. Victims were approached — often by cold call — with promises of high returns, guaranteed income, or early pension access. A transfer was arranged, pension funds moved into a SIPP, and the money invested in high-risk or fraudulent assets. When the scheme collapsed, the pension was gone. But there may still be routes to compensation.
Quick Answer
If a regulated adviser or SIPP operator was involved in a pension scam that cost you money, you may be able to claim compensation — even if the underlying investment was fraudulent. Contact us for a free assessment of your specific situation.
Warning Signs of a Pension Scam
How Pension Scams Typically Worked
The most common pension scam pattern involved the following stages:
- Initial contact — a cold call, text or social media approach offering a "free pension review" or promising better returns.
- Introduction to an adviser — an unregulated introducer passed the potential victim to a regulated financial adviser (sometimes called "introduced business").
- SIPP transfer recommendation — the regulated adviser recommended transferring the pension into a SIPP.
- High-risk investment — the SIPP was invested in storage pods, overseas property, land banking, green energy, or another high-risk or unregulated asset.
- Collapse — the underlying investment failed, leaving the pension worthless or heavily reduced.
The regulated adviser was the critical link in this chain. Their recommendation and the SIPP operator's acceptance of the investment may give rise to regulatory liability — and that is where compensation claims are focused.
Pension Liberation Scams
Pension liberation (also called pension unlocking) schemes promised people access to their pension funds before the minimum pension age. In practice, these schemes typically resulted in:
- Large HMRC tax charges on the "advanced" sums (under the unauthorised payments regime)
- Loss of the remaining pension fund into failed investments
- Significant adviser and promoter fees taken from the fund before any returns were paid
If a regulated firm was involved in facilitating a pension liberation arrangement, there may be grounds for a claim against that firm or its successors.
Routes to Compensation
The appropriate route depends on the status of the regulated firms involved:
- FOS — if the firm is still FCA-authorised and trading, complain to the firm and then refer to the FOS.
- FSCS — if the firm has failed, apply to the FSCS for compensation up to the applicable limit. Many advisory firms involved in pension scam referrals have since failed.
- Legal action — where other routes are unavailable or insufficient, legal proceedings against responsible parties may be appropriate.