Pension scam victims 'lose 22 years of savings in 24 hours'

Pension pot loss of £82,000

Sophie King
clock • 2 min read

Pension scam victims could lose an average of 22 years of savings in 24 hours, according to research by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and The Pensions Regulator (TPR).

As part of the regulators' joint ScamSmart campaign, to encourage people to protect their savings, research has revealed it could take a saver 22 years to build a pension pot of £82,000. This was the average amount victims lost to scams in 2018. Nearly one in four people (24%) surveyed admitted to taking 24 hours or less to decide on a pension offer. Even though 63% said they are confident in deciding about their pension, the same proportion would trust someone offering pensions advice out of the blue. TPR and the FCA also found that those with a university degree are 40% more like...

To continue reading this article...

Join Professional Adviser for free

  • Unlimited access to real-time news, industry insights and market intelligence
  • Stay ahead of the curve with spotlights on emerging trends and technologies
  • Receive breaking news stories straight to your inbox in the daily newsletters
  • Make smart business decisions with the latest developments in regulation, investing retirement and protection
  • Members-only access to the editor’s weekly Friday commentary
  • Be the first to hear about our events and awards programmes

Join

 

Already a Professional Adviser member?

Login

More on Pensions

Young disabled people face £245,000 pension gap

Young disabled people face £245,000 pension gap

PensionBee research finds

Sophia Panayi
clock 27 May 2026 • 4 min read
Pension transfer times hit 10-day mark in early 2026

Pension transfer times hit 10-day mark in early 2026

First time since September 2024

Sophia Panayi
clock 26 May 2026 • 1 min read
MoneyHelper pension dashboard expected to launch in 2027/28

MoneyHelper pension dashboard expected to launch in 2027/28

Maps CEO says ‘significant’ progress has been made since schemes began connecting to ecosystem

Martin Richmond
clock 21 May 2026 • 2 min read