The Lifetime SIPP Company is an FSCS-defaulted SIPP operator with a documented history of accepting business from unregulated broker networks without conducting required due diligence. The FOS repeatedly found the firm failed to perform baseline checks before executing pension transfers.
Start your free assessment →The Lifetime SIPP Company accepted SIPP business from a range of unregulated introducers and financial advisers without conducting the baseline due diligence required by FCA Principles 2, 3, and 6. Clients were typically introduced to The Lifetime SIPP Company through unregulated advisory firms and then placed into high-risk, non-standard investments including green oil, biofuel projects, and overseas property.
The FOS found in multiple decisions that the firm failed to perform zero baseline checks on the rogue introducers directing business to it. The FSCS subsequently declared The Lifetime SIPP Company in default, making compensation claims available to eligible claimants up to the £85,000 statutory limit.
Cases involving unregulated introducers may additionally trigger FSMA s.27 unwinding rights — rendering the SIPP contract unenforceable and potentially recovering the full transfer value through civil court proceedings.
The following decisions are a matter of public record held in the FOS decisions database. Summaries are factual and based on published ombudsman findings. Decision references can be verified at financial-ombudsman.org.uk.
The ombudsman upheld the complaint and found the advice to transfer existing pensions into a Lifetime SIPP for the purpose of investing in an unregulated green oil fund was unsuitable. The client was not adequately informed of the risks. The case demonstrates the consistent FOS pattern of upholding complaints where clients were directed into Lifetime SIPP arrangements via unregulated advisers to access non-standard investments.
The Lifetime SIPP Company is in FSCS default. Direct FSCS claims are open for eligible claimants. Claims focus on the firm's failure to conduct due diligence on introducers and underlying non-standard investments.
Up to £85,000Where the introducer who directed your transfer to The Lifetime SIPP Company was not FCA-authorised at the time, the SIPP contract may be unenforceable under FSMA s.27. This is a civil court route uncapped by any statutory limit.
Uncapped — s.27 FSMAFSCS claims are subject to the FSCS's own time limits from the date of default. FOS complaints are subject to a six-year absolute limitation period from the date of the advice or transfer, and a three-year awareness clock from when you first knew or ought to have known about your loss. For Lifetime SIPP clients who transferred between 2012 and 2018, the absolute FOS clock may have expired or be approaching expiry. The FSMA s.27 civil route has separate limitation rules and should be assessed urgently. See redressadvisory.com/time-limits for the full limitation framework.
Figures are indicative only and based on typical case profiles. Your actual position depends on your specific circumstances, the transfer value, and the applicable claim route. Not a guarantee of outcome.
Yes — The Lifetime SIPP Company was FCA-regulated as a SIPP operator. The issue is not whether it was regulated, but whether it met its regulatory obligations when accepting business from unregulated introducers.
Common investments included green energy schemes, biofuel projects, overseas property developments, and other non-standard, illiquid assets introduced by unregulated advisory firms.
Possibly. If your FOS complaint was rejected on time limit grounds, a civil court route under FSMA s.27 may have different limitation rules. If it was rejected on the merits, the FSCS route may still be available. Your assessment will clarify which routes remain open.
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