Three fifths of UK adults would not report being cold called about their pension by a company that they have no prior relationship with, according to a poll by Phoenix Group.
What is more, more than 70 per cent of these adults said this was because they were unaware that they could or should report cold contact officially.
Meanwhile, when broken down by age, nearly half (48 per cent) of the over 55s would report this contact, while only a third of 18 to 34 year olds and 35 to 54 year olds would (33 per cent and 34 per cent respectively).
The survey, which took the views of 2002 adults, found 44 per cent do not know how to report pension scams.
Philip Kline, intelligence and investigations manager at Phoenix, said: “Too many people don’t know how to recognise a scam and, if they’re suspicious, they don’t know where or how to report it. They’re therefore at risk of losing their life savings.
The government is currently mulling responses to a consultation on banning all unsolicited pension calls which was launched in the last Autumn statement.
Mr Kline: “We welcome the government’s proposal to ban pension cold calling, which will go some way towards addressing this, but we believe it’s not enough. We advocate that this ban should be extended to include all forms of electronic, written and face-to-face communications, and not just telephone calls.”
Steve Carlson, chartered financial planner and tax adviser at Cardiff-based Carlson Wealth Management, said: “I think the problem of pension scams exists more with people who are not getting financial advice. My clients would not do anything about the pension without reverting to me first. They are somewhat shielded from scams as a result.”
