Thousands of people have lost their life savings after falling for a pension scam.

Here is some advice from the Pensions Regulator

Ten steps to protect your pension: if you are thinking about how to invest your retirement savings, follow these ten steps to protect your pension.

1. Be wary of cold calls and unsolicited texts or emails: Scammers will often claim they’re from Pension Wise or other government-backed bodies. These organisations would never phone or text to offer a pension review.

2. Check everything for yourself: People have fallen for scams because they’d been ‘recommended by a friend’. Do your homework, even if you consider yourself to be financially savvy – false confidence can lead to getting stung.

3. Make sure your adviser is on the Financial Conduct Authority approved register: Pensions scammers may pose as financial advisers. Check to make sure yours is registered on the FCA website.

4. Check the FCA’s list of known scams: Visit the FCA’s scamsmart to see if the deal you’re being offered is a known scam.

5. Steer clear of overseas investment deals: Well-known scam types include unregulated investment in a hotel, vineyard or other overseas opportunities, and where your money is all in one place – and therefore more at risk.

6. Don’t fall for ‘guaranteed’ returns or professional looking websites or brochures: You can never guarantee returns on an investment, and anyone can create a smart website or brochure these days. Question everything, however credible it sounds or looks.

7. Don’t be rushed into a decision: Scammers will try to pressure you with ‘time limited offers’ or send a courier to your door to wait while you sign documents. Take your time to make all the checks you need – even if this means turning down an ‘amazing’ deal.

8. If you’re aged 50 or over and have a DC pension, talk to Pension Wise: Pension Wise is there to help you investigate your retirement options. Visit the Pension Wise website for more information (and to check what kind of pension you have).

9. Ask The Pensions Advisory Service for help if you have doubts: You can call them on 0300 123 1047 or visit the TPAS website for free pensions advice and information.

10. Contact your provider and call Action Fraud if you’ve already signed and think you’ve been scammed: If you’ve already signed something you’re now unsure about, call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 and contact your pension provider immediately. They may be able to stop a transfer that hasn’t taken place yet.

Pension scams booklet

Download our booklet for the ten steps to protecting your pension, a case study and other useful information on what you can do with your pension pot:http://www.thepensionsregulator.gov.uk/docs/pension-scams-booklet-members.pdf