Our Investment Fraud & Mis-selling team is helping many clients to get compensation after they were advised to transfer their pensions to a SIPP against their financial interests. If you believe that your SIPP pension was mis-sold, we might be able to get your money back. Here’s what you need to know about claiming SIPP compensation.
What is a SIPP?
A SIPP is a ‘self-invested pension scheme’. It is a UK government-approved pension scheme that empowers individuals to make their own investment decisions from a range of HMRC approved products/schemes.
SIPPs are not necessarily bad, and many large funds and experienced investors have benefited from their flexibility. In particular, they let people invest in a much more comprehensive range of assets than traditional pensions (e.g., equities and property). For people with the knowledge needed to make their own investment decisions, including those interested in the stock market, SIPPS provide a way for them to potentially maximise their pension pot.
But, when people are advised to invest in esoteric or high-risk investments, SIPPs also come with a much greater level of risk than traditional pensions, and these investments are often unsuitable. In response, there has been an increase in complaints about SIPP mis-selling in recent years.
For many, the potential rewards are not worth the risk.
SIPP mis-selling
The Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) exists to protect investors when financial firms fail. The FSCS raised its total compensation budget from £700m in 2020 to over £1 billion in 2021. It also reported that over a third of claims arose from mis-sold SIPPs.
Our solicitors are also dealing with many mis-sold SIPP claims, including where people transferred smaller pensions to SIPPs, and the resulting charges made the pension less valuable. We have also seen instances where people have signed up to a SIPP, without realising that they would have to manage their own investment (and with no knowledge of how to do so). This mis-selling has led to people suffering financial losses and extreme anxiety and distress. In many cases, the advisors recommending the unsuitable transfers were paid on commission.
If a UK regulated financial advisor or scheme has recommended a transfer that is not appropriate for your personal circumstances, and you have suffered as a result, you have the right to claim compensation.
Was your SIPP mis-sold?
You might be the victim of SIPP mis-selling if a financial advisor/pension scheme convinced you to:
- Transfer a final salary/defined benefit pension (workplace pension) into a SIPP.
- Transfer out of the MoD pension scheme.
- Transfer into a scheme that resulted in excessive fees or commissions.
- Transfer into an unregulated or potentially fraudulent investment.
- Transfer a perfectly good scheme into a more expensive, complicated, unsuitable, or non-mainstream product.
- Transfer without explaining the T&Cs, risks, charges, or fees.
- Transfer without explaining any benefits you would lose.
- Make a transfer without assessing whether a high-risk pension was suitable for you.
Get your money back for a mis-sold SIPP
If you believe that your SIPP pension was mis-sold, you could be entitled to compensation, and you should contact our team as soon as possible. Our expert solicitors are ready to discuss your case and help you claim compensation for any financial loss or emotional distress experienced.
We work on a no-win, no-fee basis, so you won’t have to pay us anything if your claim is unsuccessful.
