UK. Pensioners lose decades of savings in 24 hours
As part of a campaign called ScamSmart, the UK Financial Conduct Authority and The Pensions Regulator have revealed £82,000 (AU$154,202) is the average amount victims of pension scams lost in 2018.
It would take an ordinary working saver 22 years to amass that amount, according to the FCA.
Despite the significant cost of scams, 24% of people surveyed admitted to deciding on a pension offer within less than 24 hours.
One of the main warning signs of a scam is someone offering pension advice out of the blue, the FCA said.
About 63% of consumers said they were confident to make decisions about their pensions, while 63% also said they would trust someone offering pension advice out of the blue.
Interestingly, the FCA’s research found the more highly educated a person was the more likely they were to fall for pension scams.
Those with university degrees were 40% more likely to accept a free pension review and 21% more likely to take up an offer to access their pension pot early.
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