The SIPP provider, Forthplus Pensions Ltd, was placed into administration on 19th October 2021. The joint administrators have been appointed (Leonard Curtis) and iPensions Group are responsible for taking over all of the company’s clients.
Forthplus Pensions Ltd previously traded under the names Helium Miracle 119 Ltd and Athena Pensions Ltd.
Pension Advisors Based In Spain
The company had some 2,500 clients on their books – most of them being British nationals who now live abroad. Many of these were first introduced to the idea of moving their pension and putting money into various investments by Square Mile Financial Services, this company later changed its name to Planet Pensions Ltd. As Square Mile Financial Services did not have the relevant permissions to provide clients with pension transfer advice, they instead introduced their clients to a UK regulated company based in Spain called AES Financial Services Ltd.
International Pension Transfer Specialists (the trading name for the Spanish branch of AES Financial Services Ltd) sent clients a letter of recommendation and stated that Spanish law was applicable. However, the company didn’t mention that transfers out of the scheme could only be accepted if advice had been given by a UK regulated and authorised company that had all of the relevant permissions.
Unsuitable Advice
The company began to struggle because of the large number of complaints that the Financial Ombudsman Service (FOS) received with respect to due diligence prior to taking on pensions savers.
Anyone who had dealings with the company and ended up transferring their pension may have been given advice that wasn’t suitable and so they should have their transaction reviewed immediately by a professional.
Next Steps
Call us now for a phone or video consultation with one of our legal experts on 0800 041 8358 to find out if you are entitled to compensation, you may even be entitled to additional compensation if you have successfully claimed in the past.
