If you have a UK pension and a Portuguese phone number, you are on a list somewhere. I say that only half-jokingly. In over fifteen years of advising British expats, I have never seen pension scammers as active, as polished, or as convincing as they are right now.

Pension scams are the one part of my job that genuinely keeps me up at night. A bad investment can often be recovered from over time. A pension lost to a scam usually cannot. This article walks you through exactly how these scams work in 2026, the warning signs that should make you put the phone down, and the simple steps that keep your retirement savings where they belong – with you.

Why UK Expats in Portugal Are Such Easy Targets

Scammers love expats, and not because we are gullible. They love us because our situation has three features they can exploit. First, our pensions are often large and mobile. Many people who move to the Algarve or Lisbon have spent decades building up workplace and personal pensions, and the act of moving abroad puts the idea of “sorting out my pension” firmly in their mind.

Second, we sit in a regulatory grey zone. You have a UK pension governed by UK rules, you live under Portuguese tax law, and you may be talking to a salesperson based in a third country entirely. That confusion is the scammer’s best friend. They count on you not knowing which rules apply or who to call to check.

Third, the expat grapevine is powerful. We trust recommendations from people at the golf club, the padel court, or the WhatsApp group for our urbanisation. Scammers know this, and a single successful con in a community of British retirees can quietly spread to a dozen more victims before anyone realises what has happened.

None of this means you are foolish if you are approached. The most financially sophisticated clients I have ever worked with have come to me clutching a glossy brochure, half-convinced. Good scams are designed to fool clever people.

The Most Common Pension Scams Right Now

The pitch changes with the seasons, but the underlying tricks stay remarkably consistent. Here are the ones I am seeing most often among the expat community in 2026.

The “free pension review” cold call. You get an unsolicited call, email or WhatsApp offering a no-obligation review of your UK pensions. The reviewer is friendly, knowledgeable, and seems to be doing you a favour. The “review” always concludes that your existing pensions are underperforming and that you should move them – usually into an overseas scheme or an unregulated investment that pays the salesperson a fat commission.

The unregulated investment dressed up as “exclusive.” Once your money is moved, it gets steered into something that sounds exciting and is almost impossible to value or sell: overseas property developments, storage pods, car park spaces, green energy bonds, or forestry schemes. The returns quoted are eye-watering – eight, ten, twelve per cent guaranteed. Genuine guaranteed returns simply do not look like that.

The dodgy QROPS or SIPP transfer. Overseas pension transfers can be entirely legitimate and useful for expats. But scammers abuse the structure, moving your fund into a Qualifying Recognised Overseas Pension Scheme or Self-Invested Personal Pension that exists mainly to host the unregulated investments above, while charging layers of hidden fees.

The early-access or “pension liberation” con. If anyone tells you they can get you cash out of your UK pension before age 55 (rising to 57 in 2028), walk away. Outside of serious ill health, this is almost always a scam, and you can be hit with a 55 per cent unauthorised payment tax charge from HMRC on top of losing money to fees.

The clone firm. This is the cleverest one. Fraudsters copy the name, branding and even the FCA registration number of a real, regulated firm. You think you are dealing with a household name. You are not. Always verify the phone number and website independently rather than using the contact details the caller gives you.

Red Flags: How to Spot a Pension Scam

You do not need to be a financial expert to protect yourself. You just need to recognise the pattern. If you see two or more of these signs together, treat it as a scam until proven otherwise.

• You were contacted out of the blue. Since 2019 it has been illegal to cold-call people about their pensions in the UK. A genuine adviser does not ring you unprompted about your retirement pot.
• There is time pressure. “This opportunity closes Friday.” “The bond is nearly fully subscribed.” Urgency exists to stop you thinking and checking.
• The returns are too good. Guaranteed high returns with no risk do not exist. If they did, the person calling you would not need your money.
• You are encouraged to access cash early. Especially before age 55.
• The firm is hard to verify. No FCA registration, a registration that does not match the contact details, or an adviser who gets twitchy when you say you want to check them.
• The paperwork is rushed or unusual. You are asked to sign quickly, to use a courier, or to transfer before you have read everything.

In my experience, the single most protective habit you can build is simply this: never make a pension decision on the same day you first hear about it. Scams rely on momentum. Sleeping on it kills them.

How to Check If a Firm Is Genuine

Verification takes about ten minutes and it is the best ten minutes you will ever spend. Start with the Financial Conduct Authority. Their ScamSmart tool and Warning List let you check whether a firm is authorised and whether it has been flagged. Crucially, look up the firm’s contact details on the FCA register itself and use those, rather than the number or email the salesperson handed you – this defeats clone-firm scams.

If you are dealing with a Portugal-based adviser, check that they are registered with the relevant Portuguese regulator (the CMVM for investments or the ASF for insurance-based products) or are passporting a valid EU authorisation. A legitimate adviser will happily tell you who regulates them. A scammer will deflect.

You can also get free, impartial guidance from MoneyHelper, the UK government-backed service, before you commit to anything. There is no shame in pausing to take a second opinion. Any honest professional welcomes it.

What to Do If You Have Already Been Approached – or Caught

If you have been contacted but not yet handed over any money, the answer is simple: stop, do not engage further, and report it. In the UK you can report to Action Fraud, and reporting helps protect others even if you were never at risk yourself.

If you have already transferred money, act fast but do not panic. Contact your pension provider immediately to see whether the transfer can be halted. Report it to Action Fraud and to the FCA. Speak to a regulated adviser about damage limitation. Recovery is not always possible, but the sooner you act, the better your chances, and you may be able to limit any tax consequences with the right professional help.

Above all, do not let embarrassment stop you from speaking up. Pension fraud victims are often intelligent, careful people who were targeted precisely because they had something worth stealing. The criminals are the ones who should feel ashamed, not you.

How to Move or Manage Your Pension Safely

None of this means you should never touch your UK pension. For many expats, reviewing and reorganising pensions after moving to Portugal is a sensible and valuable thing to do. The point is to do it through the front door, not because a stranger called you.

Work only with a firm you have independently verified as regulated. Make sure your adviser understands both UK pension rules and Portuguese tax – the interaction between the two is where the real value, and the real pitfalls, live. Insist on full, written transparency on every fee and commission. And never agree to put your retirement savings into anything you cannot understand, value, or sell. If you would like a second opinion on a pension you already hold, our team can review it with you with no pressure to change anything.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is it illegal to cold-call about pensions?

Yes. Since January 2019 it has been illegal in the UK to make unsolicited calls about pensions, including to people living abroad. If you receive an out-of-the-blue call, text, email or WhatsApp about your pension, treat it as a warning sign and do not engage.

Can I get money out of my UK pension before 55?

Almost never, outside of serious ill health. Anyone promising early access is very likely running a scam, and you could face a 55 per cent unauthorised payment charge from HMRC on top of any losses. The normal minimum access age is 55, rising to 57 in 2028.

Are overseas pension transfers always a scam?

No. Transferring a UK pension into a QROPS or keeping it in a UK SIPP can be perfectly legitimate and sometimes advantageous for expats. The problem is not the structure itself but how scammers misuse it to host unregulated, high-commission investments. The vehicle can be fine; the contents are what matter.

How do I check if an adviser is real?

Look them up on the FCA register and, for Portugal-based firms, the CMVM or ASF. Always use contact details from the official register rather than the ones the adviser gives you, to avoid clone-firm fraud. A genuine adviser will never object to being checked.

What should I do if I think I have been scammed?

Contact your pension provider to try to stop any pending transfer, then report it to Action Fraud and the FCA, and speak to a regulated adviser quickly. Acting fast gives you the best chance of limiting the damage.

What to Do Next

The headline is reassuring: pension scams are entirely avoidable if you know the pattern. Never act on an unsolicited approach, never rush, and always verify a firm independently before moving a penny.

If you’d like to discuss how this affects your personal situation, get in touch with our team. We specialise in helping UK expats in Portugal make the most of their pensions and investments – safely.

Matthew Renier is a Chartered Financial Adviser at Arthur Browns Wealth Management, based in the Algarve, Portugal. He has over fifteen years of experience helping British expats manage their pensions and financial planning across borders.

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