People fighting to get their money out of Hartley Pensions face further delays after the provider said it will not begin its process of transferring pensions until the end of this year.
In an update to Sipp clients from UHY Hacker Young, the administrators said transfers were unlikely to happen in 2023 due to the timescale of a court application.
It also said it was looking for operators to onboard some or all of the Sipp book.
As seen by FTAdviser, the letter stated: “Due to the proposed timescale of the court application being heard, we propose that the transfer out process is likely to commence from December 2023 onwards.”
UHY Hacker Young previously told investors it would apply to court to ratify an ‘exit and administration’ charge that the administrators will make against the assets that clients hold within their Sipps.
This timescale may vary if we are able to identify one or more nominated operator(s).Hartley letterThis will replace the current annual management fees that Sipp clients are being charged and will enable them to eventually transfer out.
The administrators said it continues to work on progressing the court application and proposed to issue the application in October.
Due to the courts' summer recess, the application is expected to be heard in November.
UHY Hacker Young also said it is in communication with a number of operators to see who is willing to on-board some or the whole of the Hartley Pensions Sipp book.
It added: “It may take 12 months or longer from this date to effect all transfers to new operators.
"This timescale may vary if we are able to identify one or more nominated operator(s) as it is expected that a nominated operator would be able to on-board Sipps more quickly than if each and every Hartley client were to be transferred individually.”
In June, UHY Hacker Young set out four cost models to calculate exit and administration charges for Sipp clients.
The four proposed cost models were:
- Fixed fee per client model – This model is a fixed fee for all clients regardless of the type(s) of asset held or value of their Sipps.
- Hybrid charge based on asset type model – This model is a different charge for each type of asset held within a client's Sipp.
- Percentage based model on the total value of the assets under administration model – This model will charge a percentage on the value of the assets in a client's Sipp; and
- Capped percentage charge – This model will charge a percentage on the value of the assets within a client's Sipp subject to a cap to be determined.
FTAdviser reported in April that clients may have to wait up to a year to get their Sipp assets after some clients struggled to draw down their funds.
One pensioner couple, Mr and Mrs Potts, who are advised by Julian Pruggmayer of Financial Risk Management, told FTAdviser in April they had been trying to get their money transferred, to no avail.
At the time, Hacker Young said part of the administration process was to reconcile all the assets that Hartley administers on behalf of clients - approximately £1.2bn - to make sure the assets are securely held by the trustee companies.
Those who are battling to get their money from Hartley Pensions' administrators have since invited advisers and clients to join an action group.
amy.austin@ft.com
