Frequently Asked Questions

Hartley is the manager and operator of your Self-Invested Personal Pension (“SIPP”) and/or Small Self-Administered Scheme (“SSAS”). Hartley is a separate legal entity to the corporate trustees which hold the money and assets within your SIPP/SSAS on trust.

As a result of serious operational and regulatory issues, the Financial Conduct Authority (‘FCA’) imposed a number of requirements over Hartley. As a result, Hartley’s director sought professional advice and concluded that Hartley will or is likely to become cash flow insolvent in the future. Subsequently, the director has appointed Peter Kubik and Brian Johnson of UHY Hacker Young LLP as joint administrators (the “Administrators”) of Hartley on 29 July 2022.

Hartley remains subject to a number of FCA requirements agreed with by, or imposed upon, it. The requirements were agreed or imposed in an attempt for Hartley to correct a number of operational, financial and regulatory issues within the business and to protect Hartley’s clients.

PLEASE REVERT BACK TO THIS PAGE FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

Administration is an insolvency process by which Hartley has been placed under the control of insolvency practitioners, who will manage the affairs of Hartley, instead of the director.
The Administrators have a statutory objective of achieving a better outcome for creditors than in a winding up of the firm (without first entering administration) and intend to continue to operate Hartley while a transfer of its SIPP book is arranged in order to meet this objective.

Peter Kubik and Brian Johnson, both of UHY Hacker Young LLP, were appointed as Administrators by the director of Hartley.
The Administrators are both qualified insolvency practitioners, regulated by the Insolvency Practitioners Association.

Yes, the Hartley remains authorised and regulated by the FCA (in relation to SIPPs) and the Pensions Regulator (“TPR”) (in relation to SSASs). The Administrators are in contact with the FCA, which consented to the appointment of the Administrators, and are having initial discussions with TPR. They will also speak to other relevant agencies such as HM Revenue and Customs, the Financial Ombudsman Service (‘FOS’), and the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (‘FSCS’). You will be provided with all relevant information in due course.

Hartley is the manager and operator of your SIPP/SSAS. The money and assets held in the SIPP/SSAS are held on trust by a corporate trustee which is a separate legal entity to Hartley.
The Administrators are now engaged in an accelerated sale process to secure an alternative manager and operator of your SIPP/SSAS. It is the intention of the Administrators to trade Hartley whilst in administration, subject to funding, to allow the Administrators time to arrange an orderly hand over of the management of the SIPP/SSAS to an alternative provider.

Existing pension assets are held by trustee firms, which are not regulated by the FCA and have not entered into administration. If this changes the Administrators will contact any clients affected.

The Administrators are seeking to agree an orderly handover of the management of the SIPP/SSAS to an alternative provider as soon as possible. This will take some time but the Administrators would hope to give a more accurate timescale in August 2022.
PLEASE REVERT BACK TO THIS PAGE FOR FURTHER UPDATES.

No, as you will be aware Hartley is restricted from receiving new or ongoing contributions, or from carrying out pension transfers or switches from any existing clients. We will provide further updates in due course.

The restrictions do not prevent you from accessing your pension in the normal course. For example, you are able to drawdown money in the usual manner, trade investments and request your pension commencement lump sum. The only restrictions are that no further contributions can be made to your SIPP and no transfers out can be made currently.

Members are not currently able to make any new contributions to their pensions. This is intended to ensure that no new member assets are received in a period in which customers cannot transfer out and/or Hartley is subject to the administration process.

Yes. It is intended that you will be transferred to a new provider, following which you may move to a provider of your choice. Any transfer to a new provider will require FCA approval.

No action needs to be taken at this stage whilst the Administrators identify an alternative service provider. Please bear with us. We will provide you with regular updates to let you know what is happening.

If you owe Hartley money you will likely be asked to pay that money. You will be contacted with details of where the money should be paid.

The Administrators are doing everything they can to facilitate a smooth transfer to a third party provider. They ask that you bear with them whilst they do this but if you want to make a complaint, you can submit this be either phone or email:

E:         hartleypensions@uhy-uk.com

T:         0800 063 9113 (Freephone for UK callers)

+44 20 3282 8151 (International callers)

The FSCS is the compensation scheme for customers of UK authorised financial services firms and protects consumers when those firms are not able to meet protected claims against them.

The FSCS has eligibility criteria in respect of the activities and the people who are covered. This means, for example, that coverage may apply to SIPP products, but does not extend to clients who have invested in SSASs.

The FSCS will not be opening its online claims services to claims against Hartley yet. Following Hartley’s insolvency, the FSCS will investigate whether there are any claims protected under its rules that would allow the FSCS to declare a default and pay compensation.

If Hartley is not able to meet claims against it, and the FSCS identify any claims eligible under their rules, customers will be entitled to apply for compensation up to the limit of £85,000. The FSCS will work closely with the Administrators and investigate whether there are any claims that meet the qualifying conditions for compensation.

You can obtain further information about the FSCS on its website:

https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firms/hartley-pensions/

Claims management companies may approach customers of Hartley, offering to help them bring claims against it.  Be cautious if you are approached by one of these companies.  For the vast majority of Hartley customers there is no benefit in involving a third party in making a claim.

The FSCS is free to use.  However, it is not yet open to claims, pending its investigation into whether there may be any protected claims against Hartley that would allow them to pay compensation under their rules. The FSCS will publish updates on its website: https://www.fscs.org.uk/making-a-claim/failed-firms/hartley-pensions/

As a result of the appointment of the Administrators, Hartley is protected by a statutory moratorium which prevents any legal processes being initiated against Hartley. Consequently you cannot make a complaint to the FOS. However, if you want to make a complaint in the meantime please submit this to the following address:

FAO: The Administrators

Hartley Pensions Limited (in administration)

c/o UHY Hacker Young LLP

Quadrant House

4 Thomas More Square

London

E1W 1YW

The Administrators will work with the FSCS to determine whether Hartley is able to meet eligible claims against it. The FSCS will not be opening its online claims services to claims against Hartley yet.

If you already have a claim with the FOS, you don’t need to take any action at the moment.  The FOS will be working closely with the FCA and the Administrators to agree an appropriate course of action. The FOS will contact you in due course regarding the next steps.

Hartley’s staff remain employed and the Administrators will continue to liaise with the staff throughout this process.

You can contact us in the usual way as follows:

Post:                Hartley Pensions Limited, 5^th Floor, 25 Marsh Street, Bristol, BS1 4AQ

Phone:              +44 (0)117 316 9991

Email:               admin@hartleypensions.com

Updates will be posted on the UHY website at:

https://www.uhy-uk.com/hartley-pensions-limited-administration

If you wish to advise the Administrators on any matters, please email them at hartleypensions@uhy-uk.com. You can also write to them:

FAO The Administrators

Hartley Pensions Limited (in administration)

c/o UHY Hacker Young LLP

Quadrant House

4 Thomas More Square

London

E1W 1YW

Please end the call and contact the Administrators on 0800 063 9113.  Please remain alert to the possibility of fraud.

GDPR Fair Processing Notice

As part of our role as Administrators, we may need to access and use data relating to individuals. In doing so, we must abide by data protection requirements.

Information about the way that we will use and store personal data in relation to insolvency appointments can be found at https://www.uhy-uk.com/privacy-policy.

It is important that you read this Fair Processing Notice so that you are truly aware of how and why we are using your data. This Fair Processing Notice supplements any other notices Hartley may have served on you and is not intended to override them.

There are 3 types of ISA:

• cash ISAs
• stocks and shares ISAs
• innovative finance ISAs

You can put money into one of each kind of ISA each tax year. This is known as “One ISA of each type of Tax Year” Rule.

Hartley Pensions Ltd offer a Stocks and Shares ISA and Innovative finance ISAs. To open one of these ISAs you must be 18 years old or over.

You must also be a resident in the UK or a Crown Servant or their spouse or Civil Partner.

Hartley Pensions Ltd also offers a Junior Stocks and Shares ISA for children under the age of 18.

Your ISA Manager will be Hartley Pensions Ltd who are regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), reference number 735936.

Whilst your money is being held in a deposit account which we set up for you, it is covered by the FSCS’s UK deposit recovery scheme. When your money is invested on a particular platform/s it may also be covered by the FSCS. Further information can be found on the FSCS website by visiting: http://www.fscs.org.uk/

Yes. You have a legal right to cancel your Hartley Stocks and Shares ISA, within 14 days of you receiving the welcome pack. Please notify us in this instance.

ISA charges & key benefits at a glance

The charging structure for all Hartley ISAs is completely transparent. There are no hidden charges. For more information, see our comparison chart below.

All prices are exclusive of VAT

HMRC have termed adding money to your ISA as ‘subscriptions’

In the 2016/2017 tax year the maximum you can subscribe into an ISA is £15,240. This amount is the total across all ISAs that you may own.

For example: You could save £10,240 in a cash ISA, £2,000 in a stocks and shares ISA and £3,000 in an innovative finance ISA in one tax year.

If you have subscribed to an existing ISA not held with us then this will also count towards the subscription limit.

For Junior ISAs (JISAs) the maximum subscription limit for 2016/2017 tax year is £4,080.

From 2017/2018 tax year the subscription limit for ISAs is to increase to £20,000 and for JISAs £4,128.

You can withdraw funds at any time by alerting us. We can arrange a one-off payment or regular payments to be made into a bank account in your name.

No. However if disinvestments are made to cover a withdrawal then trading charges may apply

Yes. You can transfer your existing ISA investments to your Hartley Stocks and Shares ISA by completing our simple Transfer-In form and asking your existing ISA provider to make the transfer.

If you transfer current tax year subscriptions into a Hartley Stocks and Shares ISA then these count towards to the subscription limit. However if you transfer in previous years subscriptions then you still able to pay the full allowance for this tax year.

No, we are so confident you will be impressed with your service that we do not charge a fee to transfer out

Once we are advised of your death, we will take steps to close your ISA as it stops being tax-exempt from the date of death. We will liaise with the executor of your estate regarding the sale of any investments still held in your account (as it no longer benefits from the ISA “wrapper”). Tax will accrue on any gains from your investments from the date of death and payment of any tax on these gains will be overseen by the executor or administrator of the estate. The assets held will form part of your estate and are potentially liable to inheritance tax.

The APS is an allowance passed to your spouse when you die. This allowance is in addition to their own subscription limit.

The Value of the APS is limited to the value of your ISA at death.

For example
The value of your ISA is £45,000 at death, this figure is added to your spouses subscription limit of £15,240 allowing a total subscription of £60,240 into their own ISA

A Cash ISA allows you to subscribe cash into a tax efficient vehicle where funds can be readily available to you.

To open a cash ISA you have to meet the following criteria;

• 16 or over for a cash ISA
• resident in the UK
• a Crown servant (eg diplomatic or overseas civil service) or their spouse or civil partner if you don’t live in the UK

Your ISA will be formally opened from later of;

• The date a valid application form has been completed and accepted
• The date on which the subscription has been made

You can check the opening or ‘commencement’ date of your ISA in your welcome pack.

Yes – you can set up a direct debit to come out of your account on the 1st of every month at a frequency of your choice. We can then make a one-off or regular payments to the platform/s of your choice.

A Stocks and Shares Individual Savings Account or ISA is a savings vehicle through which you can invest in a number of UK and international investments, tax efficiently. Any profit you make on your investments is tax-exempt. A Stocks and Shares ISA gives you the opportunity to choose which investments you hold, within the regulations.

You have the choice as to how to select and manage your investments held in Stocks and Shares ISA;

• You can do it yourself and self select the funds with the ISA manager
• You may use an adviser who will identify suitable investments for you that meet your objectives and risk profile

To apply for a Stocks and Shares ISA we will require for our application form to be fully completed. We will also require that a valid subscription be made within 30 days of completing the application form. Your can subscribe to your ISA in the following ways:

• Cheques
• Transfer in an existing ISA currently held with another ISA provider – our transfer will need completing to action this.
• Direct payment into your ISA can be made once we have processed your application
• Regular payment by Direct Debit

On receipt of a completed application and subscription we will be in a position to formally open your Stocks and Shares ISA.

Below is a list of the qualifying investments allowed in a Stocks and Shares ISA.

• Shares
• Securities issued by companies
• Government securities
• Core Capital Deferred Shares (CCDS)
• Securities issued be certain multilateral organisations
• Units or shares in a UK UCITS
• Units or shares in a qualifying non-UCITS retail scheme
• Shares and securities in qualifying investment trusts
• Units or shares in a recognised UCITS
• Shares emerging from a Schedule 3 SAYE option scheme or a Schedule 2 Share Incentive Plan
• Depositary interests
• Cash
• Units in a collective investment schemes specified as stakeholder products
• Policies of life insurance that satisfy the requirements
• Policies of life insurance issued before 5 April 2004 that had previously qualified for the separate insurance component
• Investments held in a PEP at 5 April 2008 that were qualifying investments under regulation 6(2)(m) of the Personal Equity Plan Regulations 1989

You can not invest in Unquoted shares and anything not noted in the list above which was based on HMRC guidance. Please check www.hmrc.gov.uk for the most current list. The particular investment platform or provider you choose may have a different list to the above. Please visit our website: hartleypensions.com for the latest list of approved ISA investment platforms. We cannot give any advice on which particular platform to choose; the list we hold simply means that the platform provider has satisfied our due diligence procedure.

Your ISA will be formally opened from later of;

• The date a valid application form has been completed and accepted
• The date on which the subscription has been made

You can check the opening or ‘commencement’ date of your ISA in your welcome pack.

Yes. You can transfer your existing ISA investments to your Hartley Stocks and Shares ISA by completing our simple Transfer-In form and asking your existing ISA provider to make the transfer.

Yes – you can set up a direct debit to come out of your account on the 1st of every month at a frequency of your choice. We can then make a one-off or regular payments to the platform/s of your choice.

We will keep the cash in a segregated client account with Barclays while we await your instruction for investment.

Introduced on 6th April 2016 and Innovative ISA allows you to lend direct to borrowers which allows you enjoy better rates. When lending through an Innovative ISA and interest you receive back will be tax-free

The Qualifying investments that you may purchase, make or hold in an Innovative Finance ISA, are:

• peer-to-peer loans
• cash

Peer to Peer lending is something known as P2P lending it allows borrowing and lending between individuals or peers without using banks or building societies.

Your ISA will be formally opened from later of;

• The date a valid application form has been completed and accepted
• The date on which the subscription has been made

You can check the opening or ‘commencement’ date of your ISA in your welcome pack.

We will keep the cash in a segregated client account with Barclays while we await your instruction for investment.

A Junior ISA was introduced in October 2010 to provide children with a tax free savings account.

There are two types of JISAs, a child can have either;

• A Cash JISA
• Stocks and Shares JISA

Hartley Pensions Ltd do not offer Junior ISAs

As long as you child meet the following conditions then you can apply for a JISA;

• They are under age of 18
• They were born on or after 3 January 2011 or do not already have a Child Trust Fund account
• They are a resident in the UK

A JISA can be opened by someone with parental responsibility of a child who is under 16 years of age. This person will be come a registered contact for the ISA.

A registered contact is an individual with parental responsibility of a child who will agree to the terms and conditions under which the Junior ISA (JISA) will operate and give instructions for the management of the account.

• There can only be one registered contact for any account at any time
• The registered contact is the only person who can give instructions to the provider on management of the investments in the JISA
• All correspondence will be addressed to the registered contact.

Withdrawals from a JISA are restricted, it is only possible to make withdrawals under the following circumstances;