Pension entitlements make up a substantial proportion of personal wealth in Britain, totalling £6.1tn in 2016-18. This is 42 per cent of aggregate household wealth, more than any other source, including property and financial savings. Around £2.5tn of this £6.1tn is accessible to scammers.

Police figures show that on average in a single year, victims lost £91,000 to pension scammers with some losing as much as £1m. Furthermore, the issue may be set to worsen as scammers begin to exploit new vulnerabilities from the financial hardship caused by the coronavirus crisis.

This report draws together the findings of a research project carried out by the Police Foundation and supported by The People’s Pension. It calls for urgent and decisive action to be taken by the police, the government and the pensions industry to stop scammers stealing people’s life savings.