Compare SIPPs

To open or pay into a SIPP, you must be under the age of 75. You can also open a SIPP for a dependent, including someone under 18 (this is known as a Junior SIPP and has its own special rules). You can also make payments into someone else’s SIPP (e.g. your spouse’s or parent’s) but they must set up the SIPP themselves.

Otherwise, the rules on SIPPS are the same as those for pensions in general. You benefit from the same tax relief and tax-free growth, the same annual and lifetime allowances, and can access your pot in all the usual ways from the age of 55.

Setting up a SIPP can be a good way to combine several existing pension pots into one. This means you are no longer trying to keep track of lots of plans from previous employers, and can monitor how close you are to the lifetime allowance.

A SIPP also gives you more freedom to manage your pension fund to meet your changing needs. You can flex the amount you pay into your SIPP, so that (for instance) you can take payment holidays when necessary and contribute large one-off sums at other times.

As you have more control over your SIPP, you may have no-one else to blame if things go wrong. Taking investment decisions without adequate advice may lead to big losses, so it is crucial to know what you are doing.

You may also find that a SIPP takes up more of your time than you expected. You can solve this problem by engaging a financial adviser to help you. They can administer the SIPP on your behalf and also help you choose the best investments for your growth plans and risk profile.

As with any kind of investment on the stock market, the value of the assets held in your SIPP can fall as well as rise. However, over the long investment period, positive growth is the most likely outcome in the vast majority of cases.

In the event of your SIPP provider company collapsing, you still have a number of protections. Your provider only manages your assets and does not hold them, so these should still be safe. If any of the banks or fund managers that do hold your assets go bust, then the Financial Services Compensation Scheme will repay your losses up to a maximum of £85,000.