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Pension cold callers could face £500,000 fines as part of planned ban
Pension cold callers could face £500,000 fines as part of planned ban
This is a duplicate of the Blog Entry made on: 21st November 2016 18:33
This is a duplicate of the Blog Entry made on: 21st November 2016 18:33
Cold calls offering exotic investment opportunities to people cashing in their pension pots will be banned under government plans.
Ministers estimate eight scam calls are made every second to UK residents, leading to an annual loss of £19m. Advice services and legitimate companies said such calls had "plagued" the pensions world for years. The ban, which could be enforced with fines of up to £500,000, would not cover texts and emails. However, the government will gather views on extending the proposed ban to all electronic communications. The police already have powers to take down fraudulent websites, but calls from overseas are likely to remain a problem as the Treasury says it can do little about them.
Pension changes
The move, which will be formally announced in Chancellor Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement next week, is aimed at tackling a surge in scam calls resulting from the Treasury's change to pension rules. Savers can now cash in their pension pot from the age of 55. When that access was permitted for the first time last year, people were taking out sums averaging close to £20,000. The latest tax authority figures show typical withdrawals have fallen to about £10,000.....Read more here
Ministers estimate eight scam calls are made every second to UK residents, leading to an annual loss of £19m. Advice services and legitimate companies said such calls had "plagued" the pensions world for years. The ban, which could be enforced with fines of up to £500,000, would not cover texts and emails. However, the government will gather views on extending the proposed ban to all electronic communications. The police already have powers to take down fraudulent websites, but calls from overseas are likely to remain a problem as the Treasury says it can do little about them.
Pension changes
The move, which will be formally announced in Chancellor Philip Hammond's Autumn Statement next week, is aimed at tackling a surge in scam calls resulting from the Treasury's change to pension rules. Savers can now cash in their pension pot from the age of 55. When that access was permitted for the first time last year, people were taking out sums averaging close to £20,000. The latest tax authority figures show typical withdrawals have fallen to about £10,000.....Read more here