Many individuals were encouraged to transfer their traditional pensions into SIPPs with promises of better returns, tax advantages, and exclusive investment opportunities. Unfortunately, financial advisors often failed to properly assess the risks, leaving investors exposed to volatile or unregulated schemes. Many of these investments included overseas property deals, forestry projects, carbon credits, and storage units, which were often unsuitable for retirement planning.

Excessive fees and charges were often hidden, and in some cases, advisors lacked the necessary qualifications or misrepresented the true risks involved. Investors who transferred out of workplace pensions also lost vital guarantees and protections they would have otherwise retained.

If you were persuaded to invest in a SIPP without being given full information about the risks, or if you were promised high returns that never materialised, you may have been mis-sold a pension product.