- Pension scam warning sounded once more
- Investment Association issues updated executive pensions guidance
Pension scam warning sounded once more
The Pensions Regulator, Financial Conduct Authority and the Money and Pensions Service have issued a warning to pension scheme trustees and savers of a potential increased risk from scammers due to fears over squeezed household finances and recent media reports on the security of pension schemes, leaving savers more vulnerable to scammers. However, none of the three bodies have seen an increase in pension scams yet.
The three bodies urge pension savers to avoid hasty decisions and contact MoneyHelper for free impartial guidance before taking any action. Savers can also find more information on how to spot the warning signs and check that they are dealing with a legitimate firm by visiting the FCA’s ScamSmart set of website information and tools.
Trustees are asked to follow best practice in protecting savers from scams – including warning scheme members of the heightened risk of pension and investment scams in times of uncertainty, and providing some of the common signs of a scam.
The new pensions minister, Laura Trott, also joined in, saying that knowing the common signs of a pension scam is a great way for savers to start, and promising to “continue to work closely with partners across industry, regulators and law enforcement to send scammers packing”.
Comment
These and other bodies, now led by the Pensions Regulator under the “Pensions Scams Action Group” umbrella, have been posting regular warnings of pension scams during much of this year. It is a message that has to be repeated time and again.
Investment Association issues updated executive pensions guidance
In its latest annual pay guidelines for FTSE companies, designed to influence the setting of executive pay for 2023, the Investment Association calls for additional restraint to be shown for pay and bonuses, as many UK households struggle with the increased cost-of-living. And as set out in previous annual pay guidelines (see Pensions Bulletin 2021/49), the IA says that investment managers want to see pension contributions for executive directors aligned with those available to the majority of the company’s workforce (when expressed as a percentage of pay) by the end of 2022.
The IA notes that the majority of companies are fully aligned but for 2023, the IA’s Institutional Voting Information Service (IVIS) will give a ‘red top’ – indicating its highest level of concern – to any remuneration policy or report where executive pension contributions are not aligned to the majority of the workforce.
These messages are also carried in the IA’s separate letter sent to FTSE 350 companies. The IA’s latest “Principles of Remuneration” are here.
