Self-invested personal pension (SIPP) meaning

Original news Mr Y (CAS-57893-P0C6)—20 August 2025 / Ms R (CAS-58612-P1X1)—18 July 2025 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman dismissed a complaint concerning a loan note investment. The scheme’s independent trustee bore no responsibility for losses arising from this high-risk, speculative asset. The complainants had completed forms confirming the trustee was not giving investment advice and could not be held accountable for any investment loss. The arrangement ran on an execution-only basis. The trustee also undertook appropriate due diligence before proceeding. In light of these factors, no liability ultimately attached to the trustee for the loan note loss. The determination highlights the perils of placing funds into non-standard investments. Accordingly, the complaint failed. What were the facts? Ms R and Mr Y were members of the Westerby Pension Scheme (the Scheme). The Scheme was a self-directed, self-invested personal pension (SIPP) scheme. Westerby Trustee Services Limited (Westerby) was the Scheme’s independent trustee and administrator...

Original news Mr T(PO-28491)/Mr T(PO-28218)—14 November 2019 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman rejected a grievance alleging a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) improperly levied an £800 yearly charge on pension assets valued at £1. The SIPP had pursued a speculative property investment that became distressed, though it did not go insolvent. As the investment remained active, the provider was entitled to refuse closure of the plan, since winding it up could potentially jeopardise any FSCS recovery. Under the plan rules, the provider was also permitted to raise its fees on giving notice. This matter highlights the potentially far-reaching consequences of choosing speculative investments. What were the facts? These two determinations stem from essentially the same circumstances. Mr T was a member of a SIPP. The SIPP provider was entitled to an annual management charge, which could be increased on notice to members...

Original news Mr N, Mr E and Mrs E (CAS-43783-B9R4, CAS-65180-W1S8, CAS-65175-F2D7)—4 December 2023 Summary The Pensions Ombudsman found in favour of a complaint concerning a hold-up in selling a pension scheme’s investments. The administrator of the scheme committed maladministration by dispatching investment instructions to an incorrect address. That maladministration gave rise to a possible investment shortfall and also stalled transfers to a self‑invested personal pension scheme. The Ombudsman’s decision serves as a reminder that administrative delays can result in investment loss. What were the facts? Mr N and Mr and Mrs E were trustee members of the Old Boys Trust (the Scheme), a small self‑administered scheme (SSAS) run by Hartley Pensions Limited (Hartley). In March 2019, Mr and Mrs E met a financial adviser to consider reorganising the Scheme’s investments and Mr N’s intended move of his share of the Scheme assets to a self‑invested personal pension (SIPP) plan. Mr and Mrs E were likewise planning to transfer their Scheme holdings. On 3 April 2019,...

Personal pensions, brought in during 1987, were hailed as creating fresh options for both employees and the self-employed. It soon became clear the proposition could equally be promoted to employers, and the group personal pension (GPP) swiftly emerged to meet that demand. In essence, a GPP is a collection of individual personal pension policies housed within a single personal pension scheme and run by the provider for the workforce of one employer, or a group of employers. GPPs are therefore ‘workplace personal pension schemes’. Consequently, rules apply to GPPs that do not apply to personal pensions used outside the workplace. For example, they are overseen by independent governance committees (IGCs) (see —principal legal features below) and limits apply to charges borne by members. For more detail on workplace requirements for GPPs, see Practice Note: Personal pensions—an introduction—Features specific to workplace personal pension schemes. Where the individual arrangements inside a GPP are self-invested personal pensions (SIPPs), the GPP may be presented as a group SIPP arrangement... principal legal features...

This Practice Note examines how sale and leaseback arrangements are structured, the reasons for adopting them, and the principal points to negotiate in the leaseback documentation... What is a sale and leaseback? A sale and leaseback enables a real estate owner to release capital whilst retaining occupation and use of the property. the disposal by a business of part or all of its property interests in exchange for a cash lump sum; and the concurrent grant back to that business of leases of those properties it still needs to run its operations Sale and leaseback is also commonly used to place property into a self‑invested personal pension or a small self‑administered scheme, which falls outside the scope of this note. See Practice Note: Buying property from a SIPP or SSAS. Certain Islamic finance structures operate in a closely comparable manner to sale and leaseback and are discussed in greater detail in Practice Note: Islamic finance standard documentation in the context...

Before 6 April 2006, personal pension schemes had to offer retirement benefits on a money purchase basis to gain HMRC approval. Although that rule no longer applies, its legacy—together with the original, narrow list of authorised providers—has influenced the investment structures and strategies that are typically available in the personal pensions market... Investment strategy Unlike trustees of occupational pension schemes, contract-based pension providers are not obliged to prepare a statement of investment principles (SIP). Their main public-facing document is the Independent Governance Committee (IGC) annual report. IGCs must act in the interests of policyholders. While their primary role is to assess value for money, the report goes beyond that: it sets out how the IGC has considered policyholders’ interests more broadly. It must also detail the arrangements the pension provider has established to ensure that policyholders’ views are directly conveyed to the IGC. For further information, see Practice Note: Independent governance committees (IGCs) and pensions...