Bulletin 14: Raising awareness of Pension Scams

Local Government Pension Scheme: Protect yourself from Pension Scams

Guidance on how to avoid pension scams has been added to Leicestershire Pension Fund’s member website.

This is a growing area of concern and LGPS members are encouraged to take a few minutes to read the information on the Pension scams page. Leicestershire Pension Fund has signed up to The Pension Regulator’s (TPR) Pledge to combat pension scams. By doing so we're committing to:

• regularly warning members about pension scams
• recognising the warning signs of a scam by ensuring key staff have access to training resources such as the scams module in the TPR’s trustee toolkit
• taking appropriate due diligence measures by carrying out checks on pension transfers and documenting transfer procedures.  Clearly warning members if they insist on high risk transfers being paid
• reporting concerns about a scam to the authorities and communicating this to the scheme member

Whilst visiting the website, why not take a couple of minutes to register for a Member Self-Service account? (if you haven’t already done so). Registration is quick and easy to do – all you need is your National Insurance number and a personal email address.

Once registered you will have access to your annual benefit statement (due to be published by 31 August) plus other facilities including the ability to perform your own pension calculations as well as being able to send and receive your pension documents securely.

You can also find plenty of information about the LGPS in general and links to other pensions-related websites.