The Pensions Regulator

Fraud warningSpecific fraud warning

AMP Pearl & AMP pension liberation update

This is an update following on from the specific fraud warning issued by the Pensions Regulator back in early 2006.  The warning was about suspicious activity in relation to pension transfers.  The Pensions Regulator had identified a series of illegal pension liberation transfers or attempted transfers.

All trustees, managers, administrators and professionals were asked to check their pension schemes to see if they had been affected by the scam.

What to look out for?

The organisers of this activity operated without authorisation under the recognised names AMP Pearl or AMP and used the following addresses:

• AMP Pearl, 697 Warwick Road, Solihull, Birmingham, B91 3DA.
• AMP, Administration 14/4, 99 Warwick Street, Leamington Spa, CV32 4RB.

The Pensions Regulator initially asked all schemes to look for any transfers to AMP Pearl or AMP from January 2004 onwards. However, it is possible that the activity stretches back as far as 2001. It is therefore advisable to check for transfers to AMP Pearl or AMP at either of the addresses above going back as far as 2001.

It is likely that transfers to AMP Pearl or AMP at either of the addresses above are illegal transfers.  The transfer values will not have been used to secure pension benefits in retirement and the money will not be held in a pension scheme.  The majority of the money will have been released directly to the scheme members as cash.  The organisers of this activity will have taken a substantial cut of the transfer as 'commission'.  In order to facilitate this kind of activity, the organisers may commit offences of deception, forgery and money laundering.

Facts about the legitimate AMP Pearl or AMP pension companies

The legitimate businesses of AMP and the Pearl Group are not linked with the addresses or fraudulent activity detailed here.
Neither address listed above is (or ever has been) a genuine address of the legitimate companies AMP Ltd or Pearl Assurance plc, which previously operated under the brand names AMP and AMP Pearl.  AMP Ltd, now primarily operating in Australasia, no longer conducts any pensions, life insurance or other insurance business in the UK or Europe and has not done so since December 2003

The addresses are not linked in any way to the current Pearl Group comprising the companies of Pearl Group Limited (Pearl, NPI, London Life etc).  The Pearl Group continues to operate as a closed book and, as such, stopped accepting new business through pension transfers on 18 July 2003.

It should be noted that on 23 December 2003 the genuine AMP de-merged its UK companies (including Pearl, NPI and London Life) into a new, independently managed UK business called HHG plc. As a result the companies ceased using the prefix AMP in front of the brand names. This means that the names AMP Pearl, AMP London Life and AMP NPI are no longer used. In April 2005, the ownership of Pearl, NPI and London Life changed from HHG plc to Pearl Group Limited, a new company formed by Sun Capital Partners and TDR Capital.

How can a fake AMP Pearl or AMP transfer request be identified?

The addresses relevant to this warning are listed above and completed transfers may date back as far as 2001.  The organisers of this suspected liberation activity appear to rely on a veneer of legitimacy given by the recognised names of AMP and AMP Pearl, using what appears to be genuine headed paper or letterheads made up using images of genuine logos.  An added dimension of legitimacy is sometimes lent to the transfer requests and documentation by provision of copies of a legitimate Appropriate Scheme Certificate and a letter of approval from the Inland Revenue Superannuation Funds Office in relation to the PEARL ASSURANCE PUBLIC LIMITED COMPANY PERSONAL PENSION SCHEME (No1) - SF87/001/IA.

In addition, to date, enquiries indicate that the organisers request payment by cheque and ask that the cheques be made out with the transferring member's name.  Example - A pension transfer from a personal pension is organised for a member called JOHN SMITH.  The organisers ask that the cheque be made out to 'AMP re: Mr J SMITH ONLY'.

What action is necessary?

It would appear that since issuing the warning back in March 2006, pension liberation using the AMP Pearl and AMP names has been disrupted and no further attempts have been made using the AMP Pearl or AMP names.

The Pensions Regulator urges scheme trustees, managers, administrators and professionals of pension schemes to exercise extreme caution in relation to pension transfers.

All pension schemes will need to trawl their systems for any transfers to (but not from) AMP or AMP Pearl since January 2001 using either of the Solihull or Leamington Spa addresses listed above.

Investigations into this pension liberation scam are ongoing.  If any transfers are found that have not previously been reported, please do the following:

• Make a breach of law report to the Pensions Regulator.
• Prepare a Suspicious Activity Report (SAR) and send this to the Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA). In the SAR, inform SOCA that you are acting under the instructions of the Pensions Regulator.
• Send copies of all correspondence in relation to the identified transfer(s) to the Pensions Regulator, Napier House, Trafalgar Place, Brighton BN1 4DW, along with clarification of the full name, date of birth, address and transfer value of the member(s) concerned.
• Secure the original documentation in order to reduce handling (this will need to be produced as evidence in due course).  Please do not destroy original documents.

Do not attempt to contact the scheme member(s) or the organisers before speaking to the regulator.  Do not complete any transfers to AMP or AMP Pearl without first contacting the regulator.