Pensions - Articles - Pensions Regulator bans two trustees


The Pensions Regulator (TPR) is warning pension savers, trustees and administrators of the danger of rogue individuals using scamming techniques, after taking action to prohibit the trustees of 5G Futures Pension scheme.

 A notice published today by TPR confirms that John Garry Williams (also known as Garry John Williams) and Susan Lynn Huxley have been prohibited from being trustees of pension schemes with immediate effect on the grounds that neither are a fit or proper person to hold the position, citing a lack of integrity, competence and capability.

 TPR previously appointed independent trustee PI Consulting (Trustee Services) Ltd to 5G Futures Pension scheme, to protect member assets and prevent future transfers into the scheme.

 At the time of the appointment by TPR, over £16 million had been invested, the majority of which was in unregulated investments overseas, and the scheme’s methods bore the hallmarks of a scam. The overall value of the investments was significantly lower (at approximately £991,000) than their initial purchase price.

 Nicola Parish, Executive Director of Frontline Regulation, said: “We will take tough action on rogue trustees and are calling on all pension savers, trustees and administrators to be alert to the techniques they use. Beware of the dangers of transferring out of reputable pension schemes to access unrealistically high returns often associated with exotic sounding investment opportunities. If an offer seems too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

 “Our concerns in this case led to us appointing an independent trustee and we are confident that our actions have saved hundreds of members from entering the scheme.”

 TPR found that the trustees of 5G Futures Pension scheme showed serious disregard of some obvious risks to members from the scheme’s investments.

 TPR’s other concerns included:

 Potential scheme members were cold called and text messaged by introducers, paid on commission by 5G Futures Pension.
 Without their knowledge, member’s funds were invested in exotic sounding, unregulated investments overseas, such as tree plantations in Fiji, Brazilian teak plantation land and fund shares based in the Cayman Islands.
 The scheme appears to have been a vehicle for pension liberation and that the trustees were aware of this.

Back to Index


Similar News to this Story

Wish list for the occupational pensions industry in 2025
As one year closes and another begins, it's an opportune moment to set our sights on the future. The UK occupational pensions industry faces nume
PSIG announces outcome of Consultation
The Pensions Scams Industry Group (PSIG), which was established in 2014 to help protect pension scheme members from scams, today announced the feedbac
Transfer values fell to a 12 month low during November
XPS Group’s Transfer Value Index reached a 12-month low, dropping to £151,000 during November 2024 before then recovering to its previous month-end po

Site Search

Exact   Any  

Latest Actuarial Jobs

Actuarial Login

Email
Password
 Jobseeker    Client
Reminder Logon

APA Sponsors

Actuarial Jobs & News Feeds

Jobs RSS News RSS

WikiActuary

Be the first to contribute to our definitive actuarial reference forum. Built by actuaries for actuaries.