Can a pension provider contact me and ask me to urgently transfer my pension to a new scheme?
Legitimate pension providers do not cold-call you urging immediate transfers. Unsolicited contact pressuring you to move your pension quickly is a pension liberation or pension scam.
Last reviewed: 10 June 2026
Explanation
Pension transfers are significant financial decisions that authorised pension advisers treat with extensive due diligence. Legitimate providers and Independent Financial Advisers (IFAs) will explain the transfer process, provide a Key Facts document, and allow you time to consider your options. They are regulated and will have verifiable authorisation with the relevant financial regulator.
Pension scams often promise higher returns, early access to pension funds, or a special one-time opportunity that expires soon. They may describe the scheme as a legitimate SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) or overseas investment vehicle. Once you transfer, your pension enters an unregulated scheme, often invested in high-risk or non-existent assets, and you may lose everything.
Pension transfers almost always come with tax implications. Accessing your pension before the minimum age typically triggers a large tax charge. Scammers downplay or ignore this, presenting the transfer as tax-free when it is not.
Before making any pension transfer, verify the provider and adviser with your national financial regulator, take independent advice, and be extremely cautious of any scheme that was unsolicited or promises unusually high returns.
Common red flags
- Unsolicited call or email about transferring your pension
- Promises of higher returns than typical market rates
- Claims you can access your pension before the minimum retirement age tax-free
- Pressure to decide quickly or the opportunity will expire
- Adviser cannot be verified on the official financial regulator's register
- Transfer is to an overseas or unfamiliar scheme with no recognised oversight
What to do now
- Do not transfer your pension based on an unsolicited contact
- Verify any adviser on your national financial regulator's register
- Contact your existing pension provider to discuss the transfer proposal
- Take independent financial advice from a regulated IFA
- Report the contact to your financial regulator and fraud authority
- Check the regulator's warning list for known scam pension schemes
Frequently asked questions
Can I access my pension early through a legitimate scheme?
In most countries the minimum pension access age is set by legislation (e.g., 55-57 in the UK). Early access schemes typically incur large tax charges. Any promise of penalty-free early access should be treated with extreme scepticism.
How do I check if a pension adviser is regulated?
In the UK, check the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk. In the US, check FINRA's BrokerCheck. Always verify using the register itself, not a link provided by the adviser.