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Lifetime SIPP – could you be entitled to £50,000?

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24/01/2019

The embattled self-invested personal pension (Sipp) provider, Lifetime Sipp, which was facing 40 Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) claims, has finally entered administration. We are urging their clients to get in touch.

It is not clear the nature of the complaints against Lifetime Sipp which led to its collapse. However, it is understood the Sipp provider had some exposure to failed investments. These include Harlequin, Ethical Forestry and InvestUS.

Many Brits have been persuaded to invest their pension pots into schemes such as Ethical Forestry by a number of financial firms. As a result, they have lost money when the schemes failed.

Administration

Administration for Lifetime Sipp’s business was being undertaken by Hartley SAS. This arrangement is now under review. Hartley SAS and Lifetime Sipp were bought by the Wilton group in 2015.

Ian Robert and Ryan Davies of insolvency practitioners Kingston Smith & Partners were appointed joint administrators of Lifetime Sipp on 29 March 2018. Their task was to try and salvage the company.

However, by late April, the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) was beginning to invite claims from clients who lost money investing through Lifetime Sipp.

Lifetime SIPP claims

It was reported in July that the FSCS had received 220 claims from investors who invested in failed schemes. We believe that Lifetime Sipp clients will be eligible to claim from the lifeboat scheme (part of the Pension Protection Fund). This has an upper compensation limit of £50,000 for investments.

However, at present the FSCS has stated it is unable to pay out on claims. They will not pay out until it has officially declared Lifetime Sipp in default. In order to declare the company in default it needs to have received at least one eligible claim and deem the company unable to meet this claim.

A document uploaded to Companies House by the administrators in May 2018 showed an incredible £21.95m in consumer claims. In addition, £34.56m in other contingent consumer claims were pending against the firm. The firm has a mere £716,000 worth of assets. However, the FSCS are still considering whether or not it will pay out on claims.

Get in touch…

If you have been told to sit tight and wait, you may find that you simply run out of time…

Get in touch with us today. Our experts could give you the clarification you need to find out if you may be entitled to compensation.