A total of £81.5m has been paid in compensation in the last year, to around 2,016 members in 58 pension schemes who were defrauded by scammers, the Pensions Regulator, the Fraud Compensation Fund, the Pensions Ombudsman and Dalriada Trustees have said. In addition, death benefits totalling £1.5 million have been paid.

The organisations said on Tuesday that more payments are to follow for other victims as a result of their joint initiative, which follows a High Court ruling in 2020 clarifying that occupational pension schemes set up as part of a scam could potentially be eligible for FCF compensation, secured by Dalriada.

TPR’s executive director of regulatory compliance, Gaucho Rasmussen, said TPR and its partners have identified further opportunities to get compensation for victims of historic scams, with more payments are to follow later this year and in 2026.

Rasmussen added: “We urge the pensions industry to be vigilant and report any suspicions to Action Fraud. Every report counts, providing the intelligence we need to stop fraudsters in their tracks.”

Sara Protheroe, chief customer officer at the Fraud Compensation Fund, said she hopes the compensation news will bring comfort to members of these schemes after a distressing experience.

She said more may be able to claim compensation: “We suspect there may still be members of schemes eligible for FCF compensation that haven’t yet come forward. We encourage these members to get in touch so we can help determine if they are entitled to compensation.”

Eligibility can be checked on the FCF website. If the scheme is not listed on the FCF website but they believe it may be eligible, they should contact the FCF directly for advice and support.

Pensions ombudsman Dominic Harris said: “A lifetime of savings can be stolen in an instant, and I have seen the devastating impact of pensions dishonesty on the members who have brought us their complaints. Intelligence sharing across the pension industry should remain a priority to reduce the harm committed by pension fraudsters.”

TPO’s Pensions Dishonesty Unit was dealing with scams but is being wound down after the government confirmed that no further funding w given to the specialist team.

Adrian Kennett, managing director of Dalriada Trustees, said: “This is potentially life-changing for people defrauded out of their pension savings who have faced uncertainty for a number of years. We are pleased to have been involved in securing this outcome for the members of these schemes, who now have access to their pensions.”

Other professional trustee firms appointed by TPR to pension schemes with scam characteristics are also pursuing claims through the FCF.

Among the victims being compensated are those of the Friendly Pensions Ltd fraud, which saw Susan Dalton and Alan Barratt convicted and jailed in 2022 for stealing £13.7m between 2012 and 2014, using a call centre in Spain. The regulator is sharing the case of victim Stephen Grimes, one of the 245 victims. He lost two pension pots worth £27,000 to the fraudsters, but the compensation award means he can access his pension savings.

“The scam put my family through turmoil, affecting our livelihoods and all our future plans. We had to raid our other pension pots to pay our mortgage. I have recently needed to step back and work less, so receiving the compensation has helped immensely,” he said.

He urged others to be on their guard against scammers: “Don’t accept cold calls and watch out for bogus cash incentives.”

The £83m returned so far includes compensation the FCF paid in August 2024 to three pension schemes whose sole trustee invested the funds his business, Norton Motorcycles Holdings Ltd, in 2012.

In 2022, the Work and Pensions Committee looked at how TPR prevents fraud and whether the process of assessing eligibility for FCF compensation and making payments can become quicker.