The changing face of Sipp regulation

Sipp regulation should provide greater protection for consumers, however not all issues are fully addressed in the new regime

We have reached another milestone in the fast-developing world of self invested personal pensions (Sipps) with the regulation of all operators in this market for the first time. A handful of providers struggled at times to interpret the vague and inadequate rules that were promulgated by the Superannuation Funds Office (SFO). These had clearly been taken by surprise by the Treasury announcement in the 1989 budget about this new breed of personal pensions. Eighteen years on the landscape looks very different. The SFO has been replaced by HM Revenue & Customs and the old rule book of discret...