Pensioners can be barred from taking cash from their retirement pots under government fraud rules coming in today.
The rules mean retirees who want to transfer cash out of their pension can be stopped by their pension firm.
The idea is this will stop them taking their retirement money and investing it in something fraudulent - which happens a lot .
Many scam victims have been left facing poverty in retirement due to this 'pension transfer fraud'.
But now pension trustees and scheme managers can step in and block cash being taken out if they think it'll end up in the hands of a fraudster.
Pension firms can raise an amber or red flag when this happens.
This blocks the payment until the pensioner involved proves they have taken action to avoid scams.
This means the retiree following guidance from the Money and Pensions Service (MaPS).
The new rules have come from the Department for Work and Pensions and will be reviewed after 18 months to check they are working.
Are the new rules sensible? Message mirror.money.saving@mirror.co.uk
AJ Bell head of retirement policy Tom Selby said: "If applied proportionately, they [the new rules] will hand more power to providers in blocking suspicious transfers while allowing the vast majority of legitimate transfers to go through as normal.
"The one lingering concern is the extent to which all providers will apply common sense when interpreting the rules - specifically around the so-called ‘amber flag' warnings."
Jonathan Watts-Lay, director of retirement specialists Wealth at Work, said: “Most people typically spend their entire working lives building up valuable pension savings, which is why they are such a lucrative target for fraudsters.
"The new regulations are really good news for pension savers and an important defence against scammers."
Earlier this month the government confirmed employees will have to work two extra years before drawing their pension - unless they had already taken action to swap it.
The plans hike the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) from 55 to 57.
This is the earliest you can take cash out of your private pension without being hit by tax penalties.
The government has been planning this since 2014 , and the changes will come in on April 6 2028.
However, workers were allowed to swap their pension to a new pension scheme allowing it to be taken out at 55 or 56 - until November 4.
This is became some pension schemes had contracts stating customers could take their pension at 55. Anyone in this scheme is locked in to this promise regardless of what the government does - though they can refuse new users.
Other schemes just said users had to wait until the minimum pension age before accessing their retirement pot - meaning 55 now, or 57 in 2028.
Someone in the second sort of scheme was allowed to move to the first, until November 4.
