The head of a pensions body has pledged to work with regulators to “restore confidence” in SSAS.

Zachary Gallagher, chairman of The Association of Member-Directed Pensions Schemes, outlined a number of concerns for SSAS in the coming months. He was speaking at the AMPS annual conference this morning in London.

One of these worries is around The Pensions Regulator and the on-going consultation by the Government. It is looking at a package of measures aimed at tackling three different areas of pensions scams including limiting the statutory right to transfer to some occupational pension schemes and making it harder for fraudsters to open small pension schemes.

Mr Gallagher said the possibility of exclusion of SSAS from statutory right to transfer is “very worrying” and “it seems a step too far from my point of view”.

In his day job, he said he had been dealing with a case of the “safest transfer you can imagine” yet the firm found itself “embroiled in battle with an insurance company” over the transfer for a client who was a director of a company since the 1960s. That company had refused to pay money to the SSAS.

For many insurance companies SSAS is “alien to them and they are bound to affected and concerned” and “mindful of their responsibility” when they hear SSAS associated with scams, he said.

Therefore it was key to work with TPR to “restore confidence in SSAS”, he said, adding there is already a lot of discussions going on with the regulator and “better engagement” is a good thing.

AMPS has already had a positive response from Lesley Titcombe, TPR chief executive, he revealed.

He said: “Another area I know concerns TPR is the master trust position as arising form the recent pensions scheme act. There’s been very real concern, justified concern, that it could apply to some SSAS. It concerns where the scheme is open to more than one employer.”

Another big concern for AMPS members comes with HMRC and the land and building transaction tax and how that is perceived, Mr Gallagher stated.

Later at today’s conference, Fergus McDiarmid from Morton Fraser will present an update on this.