Heritage Pensions Ltd

10 Mar, 2023

Our investigation into the failure of Heritage Pensions Ltd (“Heritage”) remains ongoing. We have been working closely with the IP (Kroll) to get further information to help us with our investigation. They've provided us with data about the way the firm operated, which will help us to decide whether valid claims exist against Heritage.

SIPP operator failures are usually complex investigations involving various entities and third parties that may have had dealings with investors. This means it can take some time to gather all the necessary information and in most cases, consists of large volumes of data. This is the case with Heritage.

We are working on analysing the data we have been given and we will provide further updates on our investigation on this page when we can. 

11 Nov, 2022

The FSCS investigation into the failure of Heritage Pensions Ltd (“Heritage”) remains ongoing. We're currently working with the insolvency practitioner Kroll to get more information to help with our investigation.

SIPP operator failures are usually complex investigations that involve various entities and third parties that may have had dealings with investors. This means gathering all the necessary information can take some time, which is the case with Heritage.

We will provide further updates on this page and confirm in due course whether customers have valid claims.

21 Jun, 2022

The investigation into the operation of Heritage Pensions Ltd (“Heritage”) remains ongoing.

FSCS has been working with both the Insolvency Practitioner (Kroll) & new SIPP operator (PSG SIPP) to get documentation to help with the review of the firm.

Meetings have been held and were productive in identifying key documentation to help with the investigation. Some information has now been received and is currently being looked at. This information will help FSCS determine whether claims are valid.  

We will provide more information on the progress of the investigation into Heritage in due course.

17 Mar, 2022

Heritage Pensions Ltd has failed and was placed into Liquidation on 17 March 2022.   

FSCS is now accepting claims against this firm.

FSCS is currently investigating whether any customers who have submitted claims to us are eligible for compensation. Until we have finished our investigations, we cannot say whether we will be able to pay claims against Heritage. 

FSCS and the Financial Ombudsman Service 

If you already have a claim with the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS), you don't need to take any action now. The FOS will be in touch shortly to tell you your next step. 

FSCS is free to use and you don’t need to use a representative or a solicitor to make a claim. If you claim directly with us, you will receive 100% of any compensation due. 

See our investment compensation limits and their conditions on our Investments page.  

What if you dealt with an FCA-authorised adviser? 

In some cases, FCA-authorised independent financial advisers (IFAs) may have recommended customers transfer their existing pensions to a Heritage SIPP.  

You can check to see whether your financial adviser has ever been authorised by FCA by visiting its online register.

If you were advised by an FCA-authorised adviser that’s no longer trading, you should submit a claim to FSCS against your financial adviser. 
 
We consider different factors when calculating losses on pension advice (a claim against your financial adviser) compared to claims against SIPP operators (a claim against your SIPP provider). 

This means you may receive more compensation for any losses by claiming against your financial advisor (IFA) compared to a claim against your SIPP provider. So, we recommend submitting a claim for compensation to us against your IFA first. 
 
If you were advised by an FCA-authorised adviser that’s still trading, you need to complain to them before FSCS can consider your claim against Heritage. 

If your adviser rejects your complaint, you can take your complaint against your adviser to the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS). 

If you were introduced to Heritage by a firm that was not FCA authorised, you can now make a claim to FSCS. 

FSCS work on Heritage

If you haven't got a claim with the FOS, or a potential adviser claim and you think that you have a claim against Heritage, click the ‘Check if you can claim’ button to start the process. 

Although we're accepting claims against Heritage, they will not immediately be passed to our claims processing teams for assessment. We need first to establish whether the claims are eligible under our rules. We are currently investigating this, and it may take some time.