Barclays

Self Invested Personal Pensions (SIPPs)

A SIPP is a type of personal pension plan. The SIPP itself is an empty 'wrapper' - the framework and administration for your scheme - which is then filled with investments of your choice.

A SIPP follows the same rules as other personal pensions when it comes to contribution limits, tax relief, eligibility and the age at which you can draw a retirement income.

The key benefits of SIPPs

• Wider investment choice
  SIPPs offer the greatest freedom of all types of pension to choose what you invest in, including commercial property.
• Greater control
  Make your own investment decisions independently, obtain guidance from a financial adviser, or appoint an investment manager to make decisions for you.
• Transparent charges
  Charges tend to be levied at a fixed sum for the wrapper and then based on transactions (and potentially, with some pension providers, the type and fund size for certain investments)
• Flexibility
  You can invest through regular contributions or lump sums
• Ability to hold Protected Rights
  You can now move any Protected Rights pension funds you may have into a SIPP.

As with other money purchase plans the amount of income available from your pension fund when you retire will depend on:

• The amount of money you've paid into it
• How well the investment funds perform over time, after charges are deducted
• The size of any pension commencement lump sum taken from your pension fund
• The annuity rate when you start drawing your pension or the rate applying to whichever arrangement you use to convert your pension fund into a regular income.

A SIPP could be a suitable option if you:

• Would like to have more control over your retirement fund and the freedom to make your own investment decisions, or prefer to appoint investment managers to do this for you and are prepared to pay a higher cost for this facility
• Would like a wide range of investments to choose from
• Want to transfer your existing pension(s) into a more flexible plan
• Need a tax-efficient way to purchase commercial property
• Have a medium or large fund - If the value of your portfolio is very small, the fixed charges applied to your SIPP could be disproportionate. The minimum initial contribution that we will recommend for payment into a new SIPP is £50,000.

Barclays can assess whether a SIPP is right for you in the context of your overall retirement plan. If appropriate, we'll find the investments that best suit your needs and provide you with an investment management service tailored to suit your needs.

Tax treatment will depend on an individual’s personal circumstances and may change in the future. Barclays does not provide tax advice. If in doubt we recommend you obtain your own independent tax and legal advice tailored to your individual circumstances.

Find out more about SIPPS

To learn more about how Barclays could help you, please contact us and we'll be in touch as soon as possible.

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