FSA warns on pension cash-in firm

The Financial Services Authority (FSA) has issued a warning to investors about using an unauthorised business identifying itself as Cash My Pension.

The FSA warned the business is not permitted to carry out regulated activities or promote them in the UK, including managing investments such as personal pensions.

An FSA spokesperson said they could not confirm what kind of services Cash My Pension has been offering to clients.

Cash My Pension was targeting UK consumers, the regulator said. The web address listed by the FSA for the firm no longer exists.

Anyone dealing with the firm would not be covered by the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) or the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS).

In June, the FSA issued a warning against firms, many of which are unregulated, offering to release pensions for clients aged below 55.

It said anyone using pension reciprocation arrangements, in which people are loaned back the value of their pension, could be subject to a tax charge.

In October, a lawyer described schemes of this nature as a "nightmare" for investors as regulators close in.