Football presenter Jeff Stelling has warned people to be on the ball and check their pension protection in a new campaign by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). 

Every year, the FSCS receives thousands of claims from people who have lost money from their pensions when their financial providers have gone out of business. The FSCS is the authorised body which provides compensation when a financial company fails. To raise awareness of the risks, Stelling starred in a new campaign urging people to check they have FSCS pension protection. 

Your retirement goals 

The decisions you make during your working life will impact the type of retirement you will have, the campaign spells out. One easy action you can take now is to ensure your pension pot is protected by FSCS. 

In the last five years, more than 43,000 claims were made to FSCS relating to pension losses – totalling almost £2bn. 

“One day – not just yet – I know I will retire,” Jeff says in the campaign. When that time comes, you don’t want to be left unprotected because you never got round to checking. 

Two minutes of your time 

So, how can you be sure your money is protected? “All you need to do is to search FSCS and head to their Pensions Protection Checker Tool,” Stelling says. You could do this at half-time, he suggests. Check here www.fscs.org.uk/check/pension-protection-checker. Please contact us with any questions on your pension.