Schemes can help protect their members from pension scams by keeping up with best-in-class administration, Broadstone has said.

The statement comes as recent analysis of data from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) found that 7% of adults in the UK have received a pensions-related unsolicited approach in the past year.

Although this is a drop compared to previous years, with 16% and 20% being approached in 2020 and 2017 respectively, Broadstone has said there is a fear that the extent of scamming could be going unreported.

The independent consultancy said this worry particularly concerns savers who may have been defrauded without knowing it.

According to Broadstone, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) has recently “upped the ante” on the role that trustees and administrators should be playing to tackle fraudsters.

The regulator’s recent blog explained how it was using an administrator relationships function to engage directly with administrators to protect savers and tackle potential risks they may face.

TPR also flagged duties for trustees who must carry out certain checks when dealing with pension transfer requests and direct members to Pension Wise for impartial guidance.

The regulator has said that, in most cases, this will be delegated to administrators who will often have a broader picture of the pensions landscape and can report red flags to their trustee clients, acting as the first line of defence.

Head of pensions administration at Broadstone, Gavin Giles, said: “Trustees and administrators have a vital role to play in protecting pension savers and TPR is right to up the ante on the industry taking a more proactive stance.

“We believe vigilant behaviour goes beyond the integral due diligence on receiving schemes. It should include other measures in the administrator’s quiver like excellent data protection and record-keeping, attentive member communications and ongoing awareness campaigns. These will all help pension savers avoid a lifechanging disaster.

“For too long administration has been seen as a necessary cost by schemes, but investing in top-quality standards will have positive consequences for their members. We must keep banging the drum for administration until schemes truly recognise its return on investment at scheme level and role in helping members achieve good outcomes.”

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