XPS Pensions Group and PensionBee have both committed to The Pensions Regulator’s (TPR's) pledge to combat pension scams.

The industry-wide initiative was launched by TPR on 10 November and called upon trustees, providers and administrators to help in the fight against fraud by making six commitments, including following the principles of the Pensions Scams Industry Group’s Code of Good Practice.

Some of the other commitments cover communication with members, encouraging members to seek guidance, training on scams, transfer due diligence, member engagement and reporting.

XPS urged trustees to consider making the pledge, noting that they should work out what processes they need to put in place to meet its requirements before taking the pledge and notifying members.

PensionBee chief executive, Romi Savova, commented: “The complexity of the pensions landscape has created an ideal environment for sophisticated pension fraudsters to thrive. Online fraud continues to rise as scammers find new and ingenious ways of parting consumers from their hard-earned savings.

“More can be done to alert savers to deals that are 'too good to be true' or 'unnecessary to explain' - the hallmarks of pension scams. It’s essential that the pensions industry continues to coordinate its efforts to protect unsuspecting consumers from scams.”

A statement from XPS said: “The pledge is voluntary but recognises that direct engagement with members is crucial to spotting and stopping pension scams. We anticipate that the pledge may well become a reference point if things go wrong, much like the suggested ScamSmart communications have in past ombudsman cases.”

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