Staying safe
Free pension review calls and other pension scams: how to spot them (UK)
For anyone looking for an old pension who has had an unexpected call, text or advert offering to review or unlock it. Here is how to tell the official routes from the scams.
Last reviewed October 2026. Correct as at 30 October 2026.
What this tool does. It writes the letters and asks the questions. It does not tell you what to do with the answers. It is not financial advice, and we are not authorised to give it.
Looking for an old pension can make you a target. Scammers know that people who have lost track of a pot are often unsure who to trust, and an approach may be dressed up as help: a free review, an offer to sort out your old pots, or a way to get at your money early. The official bodies that deal with this, the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), MoneyHelper and the government, all give the same core message. This guide pulls their warnings together in one place.
An unexpected call about your pension is a red flag
Cold calling about pensions was banned in the UK on 9 January 2019. A firm can only call you about your pension if it is authorised by the FCA, or is the trustee or manager of a pension scheme, and you have either agreed to calls or already have a relationship with it. Firms that break the rules can face fines of up to £500,000.
So if someone you have never dealt with rings out of the blue about your pension, the FCA's advice is simple: the safest thing to do is hang up. It says to ignore unsolicited emails and texts about your pension too, and never to take advice from a company that contacted you this way.
"Free pension review" offers
Be wary of any unexpected offer of a free pension review. The FCA puts it plainly: professional advice on pensions is not free. MoneyHelper also warns about adverts claiming to offer free pension reviews or no-obligation consultations. If an offer costs nothing and arrived uninvited, it is worth asking how the firm expects to be paid.
The warning signs the regulators list
Between them, the FCA and MoneyHelper list these signs of a pension scam:
- Unsolicited contact by phone, text, email or in person.
- Pressure to decide quickly. MoneyHelper says never be rushed into a decision.
- A promised or guaranteed better return, or high returns with low risk.
- Unusual, often unregulated and high-risk investments, or complicated structures where it is not clear where your money will end up.
- Offers to release or "loan" pension money early. The FCA says that if you are under 55 and someone offers early access, it is almost certainly a scam. The normal minimum age is 55, rising to 57 from 2028.
- A firm that will not let you call back, or only gives a mobile number or PO Box.
- Names that sound official. MoneyHelper notes that scammers may use words like "wise", "guidance" or "pension" to suggest a link to Pension Wise.
The cost of getting caught can be severe. The FCA notes that money taken out of a pension early in this way could face a tax bill of 55%, on top of the fees scammers take.
The real routes to an old pension are free
You do not need to pay anyone, or hand over control of anything, to start looking for a lost pension. If you know which provider your pension was with, MoneyHelper says your first step is to contact them; for a workplace pension, the first point of contact should be the employer.
If you do not know who runs the scheme now, the government's Pension Tracing Service can give you its current contact details. The government describes it as a free service. You can search online or call 0800 731 0175, Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm. Be clear on its limits: it cannot tell you whether you have a pension or what it is worth. For that, you need to contact the scheme itself.
For more on what the official service covers, see what the Pension Tracing Service does and doesn't do .
Before you agree to anything
- Check that any firm or adviser is authorised, using the FCA's Firm Checker, and look it up on the FCA Warning List of unauthorised firms.
- Get guidance first. If you are over 50, the FCA says you can book a free Pension Wise appointment.
- Before any transfer, ask your current scheme to check the new scheme's HMRC registration. If your provider raises a concern about a transfer, take it seriously.
If you think you have been targeted
- If a transfer may be under way, contact your pension provider straight away. MoneyHelper says they might be able to stop a transfer that has not happened yet.
- Report unwanted pension cold calls to the Information Commissioner's Office.
- Report a suspected scam to the FCA Consumer Helpline on 0800 111 6768, or online through the FCA website.
- If you have lost money, report it to Report Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at reportfraud.police.uk. In Scotland, report to Police Scotland on 101.
- MoneyHelper's financial crimes and scams unit can be reached on 0800 015 4402.
Where Pension Trail fits
Pension Trail is a website that writes letters for you to send to old pension schemes yourself, asking the questions that confirm whether a pension exists and what it is worth. It does not call you, does not ask for access to your pension, does not move money and does not give advice. Every letter goes from you, to the scheme, by your own hand.
To see what a good first letter asks, read the seven questions to ask an old pension scheme .
Ready to write to a scheme? Start your letters .
Prefer to do it all yourself? Here is exactly where to go for free .
Sources
The two letters
The HMRC employment-history letter
The only route to a complete list of every employer you ever had. Written, addressed and ready to sign.
The seven-question scheme letter
Membership, value, retirement age, guarantees, transfer value, death benefits and the address on file — put to every scheme you were ever in.