SIPP Mis-selling Guide 2026 — Were You Mis-sold a Self-Invested Personal Pension?
What Is SIPP Mis-selling?
A Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is a pension that gives you control over where your money is invested. In the right circumstances, SIPPs are legitimate financial products. But between 2010 and 2022, thousands of people were cold-called or approached online and persuaded to transfer their existing workplace or personal pensions into SIPPs that then invested in high-risk, unregulated, and often worthless assets.
These assets included storage pods in warehouses, off-plan hotels and resorts in the Caribbean and Cape Verde, forestry plantations in Costa Rica and Cambodia, care home rooms, litigation finance funds, and dozens of other unregulated schemes. Most of these investments have collapsed entirely.
The people who lost their savings were ordinary working people — not sophisticated investors — who placed their trust in advisers who failed them.
How SIPP Misselling Happened
The typical SIPP mis-selling chain worked like this: an unregulated introducer contacted people and persuaded them that they could earn higher returns on their pension by transferring to a SIPP. The introducer then referred the client to an FCA-regulated financial adviser, who received a commission for recommending the transfer. The SIPP operator then accepted the investment without adequate checks on whether it was suitable or legal.
The Financial Conduct Authority has since established that SIPP operators have a 'gatekeeper' duty — they must conduct due diligence before accepting any investment into a SIPP. The FOS confirmed this in a landmark 2018 determination against Berkeley Burke SIPP. As a result, claims can run against the adviser, the SIPP operator, or both.
Which SIPP Operators Have Failed?
| Operator | FSCS Default Date | Compensation Paid | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| Berkeley Burke SIPP Administration Ltd | April 2020 | £58 million | Largely mature |
| Rowanmoor Personal Pensions Ltd | December 2023 | Early stage | Claims open |
| Guinness Mahon Trust Corporation Ltd | April 2021 | £39.7 million | Approaching completion |
| Hartley Pensions Ltd | February 2024 | Emerging | Claims open — act now |
| Greyfriars Asset Management LLP | April 2020 | £3.75 million | In progress |
| Avalon Investment Services Ltd | January 2020 | Partial | Largely closed |
| Liberty SIPP Ltd | Ongoing FOS | 500+ FOS complaints | Ongoing |
Do You Have a SIPP Mis-selling Claim? — 8 Signs
- You were contacted out of the blue and persuaded to transfer your pension
- You were advised to move an existing pension into a SIPP
- Your SIPP held unusual investments: storage pods, overseas property, forestry, care home rooms, hotel rooms, loan notes, or bonds
- Those investments are now worth significantly less than you paid, or are completely worthless
- You were not clearly told your investment was unregulated or outside FSCS protection
- Your adviser received a commission not disclosed to you
- Your SIPP operator has gone into administration or been declared in default
- You were not asked in detail about your attitude to risk or retirement income needs
How Much Can You Claim?
Where the liable firm has been declared in default by the FSCS, you can claim up to £85,000. The average FSCS payment in SIPP and pension mis-selling cases is approximately £47,000.
Where your losses exceed £85,000, we can pursue the balance through direct litigation against solvent parties in the chain. If your IFA is still trading, the FOS can award up to £430,000 — significantly higher than the FSCS cap.
The Time Limit — Act Before It Is Too Late
Most SIPP mis-selling claims must be started within 6 years of receiving the advice to transfer. The 3-year section 14A extension from your date of knowledge may also apply — particularly important for Rowanmoor clients (FSCS default December 2023) and Hartley Pensions clients (FSCS default February 2024), where the knowledge date may be recent. Do not assume your claim is out of time without speaking to a specialist.
How to Start a SIPP Mis-selling Claim — 3 Steps
- Complete our free online form at /start-your-claim. Takes 60 seconds. No documents needed.
- We review your details and contact you within 24 hours with an honest assessment.
- If you proceed, we investigate everything. No Win No Fee — you pay nothing unless we win.