OLDER people in Bradford are being warned that this month's pensions changes could give fraudsters more opportunities to prey on vulnerable people who have accessed their retirement cash early.

West Yorkshire Trading Standards is issuing the scam warning as the pension freedom reforms comes into force from Easter Monday.

The warning has been reiterated by Age UK Bradford and District, which has advised those that are worried to make an appointment with its city centre-based money advice service.

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Margaret Lawford, manager at Age UK Bradford & District information and advice centre said: "While the increased flexibility is good for older people, we are concerned about the increased risk of scams to those over 50.

"We urge those who may be worried to make an appointment with our Money Advice Service held at our offices every other Tuesday. You can also go to the Government-backed website Pension wise which has useful information regarding what you can do with your pension pot and also how to best avoid scams and how to report them."

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Pension scams often involve tricking victims out of their cash through offers of a “one-off pension investment”, “a pension loan”, “early pension release”, “pension selling”, “pension liberation” or “cashing in your pension”.

Traditionally an unsuspecting victim agrees to transfer their pension savings into a bogus arrangement, which will allow them to access funds before the age of 55 or as cash in larger quantities than they are currently allowed. Unbeknown to the victim, it is only in specific cases, such as terminal illness, that this may have been possible.

According to the Pensions Advisory Service, scammers have a variety of tricks to catch their victims out. They may: claim that you can access your pension before age 55; approach you out of the blue over the phone, via text message or in person door to door; entice you with upfront cash; or offer a free ‘pension review’ or try to lure you in with so-called ‘one-off’ investment opportunities.

From this month it is anticipated that many people will reconsider their options in light of new freedoms, including giving savers the opportunity to access their entire pension pot from age 55. There is growing concern that as of Easter Monday, these new freedoms could create opportunities for fraudsters to prey on those that have taken the chance to access their pension early, one such opportunity being bogus investment schemes.

David Lodge, head of West Yorkshire Trading Standards Service, said: “There is a scam out there for everyone, but we know that our older, more vulnerable residents often fall victim to scams all too easily. As we continue to raise awareness across West Yorkshire of the tactic commonly being used by criminals to trick people out of their cash, we hope to build resilience in communities and prevent residents from becoming prey to fraudsters.”

One of the ways in which Trading Standards prevents victims falling for such scams is through the SAFER (Scams & Fraud Education for Residents) Project, a community protection and empowerment programme working with older adults. The project aims to provide residents with the knowledge, skills and confidence to protect themselves against doorstep crime and scams, and also to provide frontline financial advice and support to those already in crisis from such activity.

For more information on this project email safer@wyjs.org.uk. The Age UK information and advice centre in Bradford is based at Kirkgate. They can be contacted by calling 01274 391190.