Skip to main content
The Actuary: The magazine of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries - return to the homepage Logo of The Actuary website
  • Search
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on Facebook
  • Visit The Actuary Magazine on LinkedIn
  • Visit @TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Visit the website of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries Logo of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries

Main navigation

  • News
  • Features
    • General Features
    • Interviews
    • Students
    • Opinion
  • Topics
  • Knowledge
    • Business Skills
    • Careers
    • Events
    • Predictions by The Actuary
    • Whitepapers
    • Moody's - Climate Risk Insurers series
    • Webinars
    • Podcasts
  • Jobs
  • IFoA
    • CEO Comment
    • IFoA News
    • People & Social News
    • President Comment
  • Archive
Quick links:
  • Home
  • The Actuary Issues
  • August 2015
08

People in Northern Ireland 'least confident about spotting pension scams'

Open-access content Wednesday 26th August 2015 — updated 5.50pm, Wednesday 29th April 2020

The over-55s in Northern Ireland are the least confident about spotting pension frauds compared to the rest of the UK, according to research.

2

In a survey of 1,000 over-55s across the UK, 54% in Northern Ireland said they were not confident they could tell the difference between a scam and a genuine offer from a regulated company.

Southerners were found to be the most scam aware, with 63% living in this region confident they could detect the difference.

Some 59% in the Midlands and Wales, classed as a single region, were confident they could tell the difference, compared with 58% in the North and Scotland, again classed as a single region. 

The survey, carried out by pension advisers Portal Financial to highlight fraud risk, found nearly seven in 10 (69%) of respondents in Northern Ireland had been contacted by a company they felt could be carrying some form of financial scam, compared with 50% in the Midlands and Wales, 51% in the North and Scotland and 55% in the South.

The biggest proportion of people reporting an increase in pension-related sales calls was also in Northern Ireland, with 77% noticing a rise around the time pension freedoms took effect. However, nearly half (46%) of people in this region would not know where to go if they wanted accurate financial advice on the pension reforms. 

In the North and Scotland, 43% of people over 55 noticed the increase in sales calls, while 20% were unsure where to get advice.

In the Midlands and Wales, 40% of people noticed an increase and 27% would not know where to learn more. In the South, the figures were 33% and 23% respectively.

Jamie Smith-Thompson, managing director at Portal Financial, says: "Now that many of the over-55s people have access to their pension funds, the risk of scams is a growing concern and, with potentially huge financial returns, the scammers are becoming ever more sophisticated. 

"Regrettably, but understandably, many people do not have the knowledge to spot a scam, nor do they know where to go to for advice. Keeping people safe from losing their savings to a scam needs to be a priority."

Earlier this month Citizens Advice said people over 55 were repeatedly being targeted by fraudsters. 

This article appeared in our August 2015 issue of The Actuary .
Click here to view this issue

You may also be interested in...

2

UK private sector pensions deficit triples to £900bn

The combined deficit of UK private sector defined benefit pension schemes has risen from £250bn to around £900bn in the past 15 years.
Monday 17th August 2015
Open-access content
2

Just Retirement and Partnership in £1.7bn tie-up

Annuity providers Just Retirement and Partnership Assurance Group have agreed to merge, creating a firm worth £1.7bn.
Wednesday 12th August 2015
Open-access content
2

Pensions should operate like ISAs, say savers

Savers would prefer pensions to be taxed when they put money into them rather than when they withdraw it, according to a PwC survey.
Monday 10th August 2015
Open-access content
2

Guidance to correct mistakes in police and fire pensions published

The UK Government Actuary’s Department (GAD) has published detailed guidance for police and fire pension scheme administrators to calculate redress for errors.
Tuesday 4th August 2015
Open-access content
2

State pension could become 'less generous', say two in five advisers

Nearly all (96%) of financial advisers think the state pension will change, and of those, two in five expect it to become less generous, according to a survey by Aegon.
Monday 24th August 2015
Open-access content
2

Half of those making pension withdrawals will not pay for advice

More than one in four (27%) of over 55-year-olds with a pension plan to make withdrawals following pension freedoms introduced in April, but half will not pay for financial advice, according to a consumer website.
Tuesday 18th August 2015
Open-access content
Filed in
08
Topics
Pensions
Share
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Linked in
  • Mail
  • Print

Latest Jobs

Senior Reserving Analyst

London (City of)
Negotiable
Reference
149485

Senior GI Modeler - Capital and Planning

London (Central)
£ excellent
Reference
149436

Risk Oversight Manager

Flexible / hybrid with a minimum of 2 days per week office-based
£ excellent
Reference
149435
See all jobs »
 
 

Today's top reads

 
 

Sign up to our newsletter

News, jobs and updates

Sign up

Subscribe to The Actuary

Receive the print edition straight to your door

Subscribe
Spread-iPad-slantB-june.png

Topics

  • Data Science
  • Investment
  • Risk & ERM
  • Pensions
  • Environment
  • Soft skills
  • General Insurance
  • Regulation Standards
  • Health care
  • Technology
  • Reinsurance
  • Global
  • Life insurance
​
FOLLOW US
The Actuary on LinkedIn
@TheActuaryMag on Twitter
Facebook: The Actuary Magazine
CONTACT US
The Actuary
Tel: (+44) 020 7880 6200
​

IFoA

About IFoA
Become an actuary
IFoA Events
About membership

Information

Privacy Policy
Terms & Conditions
Cookie Policy
Think Green

Get in touch

Contact us
Advertise with us
Subscribe to The Actuary Magazine
Contribute

The Actuary Jobs

Actuarial job search
Pensions jobs
General insurance jobs
Solvency II jobs

© 2023 The Actuary. The Actuary is published on behalf of the Institute and Faculty of Actuaries by Redactive Publishing Limited. All rights reserved. Reproduction of any part is not allowed without written permission.

Redactive Media Group Ltd, 71-75 Shelton Street, London WC2H 9JQ