Clients of failed SIPP provider Hartley Pensions Limited - who have had funds ring-fenced - have been given an update from joint administrators UHY Hacker Young ahead of a legal judgment expected in late October.

The update confirmed that, although restriction remain in place, uncrystallised clients (those who have not had any income payments, drawdown and so on), will be able to partially transfer to a new operator.

The FCA said: “We appreciate the situation will continue to cause worry for all clients affected. The joint administrators have said the restriction will have to remain in place until the source of the monies used to repay accounts becomes clear, and a full forensic investigation may be ordered as part of a legal judgment expected in late October 2025.” 

The regulator said it will update its website once it has more information.

Hartley Pensions was a SIPP operator authorised and regulated by the FCA. It also provided administration for a small number SSAS, regulated by the Pensions Regulator.

It went into administration in 2022 after several regulatory interventions and a failure to find a buyer. An estimated 16,000 clients were hit by the collapse. It had been subject to a number of FCA requirements in early 2022 due to, “serious operational, financial and regulatory issues.”

In previous years, Hartley Pensions had acquired the client books of several failed SIPP providers. It bought the Guinness Mahon book in February 2020 after the firm collapsed. The deal meant the transfer of 4,000 SIPPs previously administered by GMTC which suffered a string of problems and legal actions from unhappy clients.

Other SIPP books the firm acquired in recent years included GPC, Berkeley Burke SIPP and Greyfriars AM.

The FCA said transfers out to a new operator began in December 2024. Since then, around 6,000 clients have been contacted, of which 2,636 have been transferred. 

The joint administrators expect the number of clients transferred to have risen to around 3,200 by early October. 

In June UHY Hacker Young, the administrators of Hartley Pensions, said they had encountered issues in contacting its clients. They said Hartley’s company records have not been accurate with many clients contact details out of date.

There were 329 Hartley clients to have deceased that the administrators said they were aware of.

Members of the Hartley Pensions Action Group protested outside the High Court in May.

That was after the Financial Conduct Authority had to reassure Hartley Pensions clients following a letter sent by the joint administrators over the unauthorised movement of monies from their SIPPs by Hartley.