If not already supplied, the requirements that an investor needs to provide are:

• evidence of identity and address with an identity verification certificate
• proof of age with either an original birth certificate or a birth certificate verification form
• a change of name / marriage certificate as appropriate
• a completed unsecured income form, including details of previous benefits from all schemes for lifetime allowance purposes
• cleared funds in the investor’s SIPP Bank of Scotland account in order to pay the pension commencement lump sum (PCLS) and income payments
• original HMRC certificates where protection from the LTA has been requested
• benefit crystallisation event certificates from other pensions administrators

Plan valuation
The Finance Act 2004 requires us to calculate the current market value of all assets within the plan at the point of designation. We will organise a formal audited valuation once the above requirements have been met.

Property valuation
Where a property is held in a SIPP, we will ask the nominated qualified valuer to advise on the current open market valuation. This could mean a full valuation or simply a letter from the valuer confirming the market value – it depends on the valuation history of the property. The valuation fee will be charged to the investor’s fund.