Review makes operators SIPP a poisoned chalice

New rules to enhance self-invested personal pension (SIPP) standards could leave operators with a bad taste in their mouth, say Charlotte Hill and Victoria Silver .

Charlotte Hill (charlotte.hill@shlegal.com) and Victoria Silver (victoria.silver@shlegal.com) are in the financial services and regulation group, which Charlotte heads, at law firm Stephenson Harwood, www.shlegal.com.

Self-invested personal pension operators are firmly on the regulator’s radar, thanks to the recently published results of the 2011 thematic review that cited the SIPP sector’s potential to cause “significant consumer detriment”. As a result, SIPPs should expect to be subjected to a “programme of coordinated work” over the coming months, geared towards raising standards across the sector. Two consultation papers (CP12/29 and CP12/33) have already been published. These contain the final version of new disclosure rules and a consultation on changes to inflation-adjusted illustrations (CP12/29) along with proposals to raise capital standards requirements (CP12/33). And this is just the beginning.