Regulators take aim at pension 'liberation' schemes

‘Withdraw Your Pension NOW,’ booms an online advertisement, ‘You can’t sell your UK Pension early BUT you can transfer to cash FAST.’ Through website promotions, cold-calls and adverts like the one above, members are being encouraged to unlock their pension and transfer funds to ‘pension liberation’ schemes, in exchange for immediate access to cash or a loan to be paid back before retirement. While some of these schemes are legal if the member is aged 55 or over, The Pensions Regulator (TPR) warns hundreds of millions of pounds have illegally been ‘liberated’ from pension funds and th...