Average compensation payouts for Sipp related claims increased by around 50%
 to £16,375, the FSCS has revealed this morning.
The organisation said that the numbers and costs of complex Sipp linked decisions are “likely to rise steeply again” next year.
The FSCS annual report, published today, showed it paid out a total of £327m in compensation to consumers as Sipp related claims increased.
The report stated: “Claims against intermediaries advising on investments and on life and pensions business are growing in both cost and complexity.

{desktop}{/desktop}{mobile}{/mobile}


“We have, in particular, seen a steady rise in Sipps - related claims arising from poor advice to transfer pension savings from sound occupational schemes into Sipps and then to invest in illiquid and risky assets within the Sipps.
“FSCS had paid out £19.4m in compensation relating to 1,142 Sipp-related claims which gave rise to an interim levy in March 2015 of £20m on 
life and pensions intermediaries.
“As we have made clear in our communications with the industry, we believe that the numbers and costs of complex Sipps-related decisions are likely to rise steeply again during 2015/16.”
The report showed that the average compensation payment for Sipp-related claims against financial advisers went up by nearly 50 per cent to £16,375.
This compared to last year’s average payment of £11,104.
The FSCS received 53,662 new claims in total in 2014/15, compared with 53,586 in 2013/14.
The total number of decisions made during 2014/15 was 61,327.
The levies received from the industry in 2014/15 totalled £1.076bn, compared with £1.1bn in 2013/14.
This figure included the interest cost and capital repayment levy for the banking failures of 2008/09.
FSCS chief executive Mark Neale said: “FSCS is there for consumers when financial services firms fail. We take that responsibility very seriously. During the year, as well as paying out £327m in compensation, to over 24,000 claimants we handled over 142,000 enquiries covering all aspects of our work.
“Our priority is to deliver a service that puts consumers first.”