Pension freedom – Financial education could help to prevent scammers

It’s sad to read news articles like the recent one with reports from The City of London Police, stating that the amount of money being scammed from retirees trebled in May.

Following on from the pension freedom, I am not surprised to read this – it presented the perfect opportunity for scammers to take advantage.

The article goes on to highlight that ‘it is unlikely that most people using an investment adviser will have ended up in the clutches of any scammers’. I have to say that I agree – having and taking heed of financial advice is clearly going to make people more savvy when it comes to what to do and – more importantly – what not to do with their money.

Wouldn’t financial education in the workplace also go some way? If people were given more information about aspects relating to their finances, and educated on how best to manage that money and to save for their futures, then wouldn’t they also think twice before parting with their hard-earned cash? Surely, they’d be more savvy and question the details, and far less would fall victim to those organisations that really don’t have their best interests at heart.

By Darren Laverty, Sales and Marketing Director at Foster Denovo.