A pensioner who has been left "homeless and penniless" has said platforms should do more to protect vulnerable clients against 'gambling' away hard-earned pension savings in high-risk investments.
When Fintan Moran got access to his pension aged 55, he had £220,000 in his pot but is now left with just £3,000.
The 62-year-old told FT Adviser that he lost most of his pension in just three years by being able to put his savings into high-risk investments within his DIY Sipp.
Moran said his diagnosed gambling addiction drew him to high-risk investments to try to chase returns. He also made several withdrawals over the time.
But he said the lack of checks and balances caused him to lose his home and he was forced to return to work as a cleaner to make ends meet.
Moran said Hargreaves Lansdown, with whom he had taken out the Sipp, should have had proper measures in place to flag the losses, considering he had lost so much of his pension value in such a short time.
The FTSE-100 listed company said there was nothing they can do to help Moran further.
With a Sipp, an individual can invest in their pensions in assets such as unit trusts, shares, cash or open-ended investment companies.
Without having had professional financial advice, and without Hargreaves Lansdown issuing regular, automated notifications about losses accruing to his pension pot over such a short time, Moran said he was left "penniless".
As a vulnerable person he said he should not have been able to gamble away his pension so easily, claiming there were few checks and balances in place.
No checks on behaviour
Moran, who was diagnosed as a compulsive gambler, said he had abstained from gambling for many years before he started on his Sipp.
He said: “When I got closer to retirement I started beefing up my pension pot.
“I put all my pensions into Hargreaves Lansdown and when I got to 55 then I started on the Sipp with the same compulsion to gamble.
“Because of my disorder I was interested in high-leverage risky products, the gambling just takes over.”
Moran said he raised the issue with Hargreaves Lansdown but was told to go to the Financial Ombudsman Service.
However, he said the Fos told him his case would not come under the remit of the body.
Fos decision
When asked about this, Hargreaves Lansdown said when Moran took his complaint to the Fos, the body said it was "beyond dispute" the firm had reacted correctly to safeguard the Sipp.
In an 11-page Fos decision, seen by FT Adviser, the ombudsman responded to several allegations of failures by Hargreaves Lansdown, over the course of a few years.
