New regulations to help prevent pension scams when transferring your pension
New regulations, arising from the Pension Schemes Act 2021, are in force from today (30 November 2021) allowing trustees to halt suspicious transfers.
Most pension transfers are legitimate and can proceed with minimum intervention, but some give cause for concern. The new regulations introduce a system of red and amber flags, giving trustees, like GMPF, the power to refuse transfers where there is a high risk it may be part of a scam.
The regulations were drafted with close co-operation between the Department for Work and Pensions (DWP), The Pensions Regulator (TPR), the Money and Pensions Service, and the Pension Scams Industry Group.
Cash equivalent transfer value (CETV) requests currently in progress may have to be processed differently under the new rules.
You can read more about the transfer process on our What are your options when opting out, leaving or transferring page and more about scams on our Pensions scams page.