Open a SIPP

The earliest you can access your SIPP is age 55, rising to age 57 in 2028. At this point you will have several options to choose from, such as whether to make flexible withdrawals or buy a guaranteed income. You can take up to 25% of your pension tax-free - subject to a maximum of £268,275 - while any remaining withdrawals will be added your income and could be taxed. 

You can transfer most types of pension to us. These include:

• Other personal / private pensions
• Pensions in drawdown
• Other SIPPs
• Executive Pension Plans
• Defined Benefit Occupational Pension Schemes
• Free Standing Additional Voluntary Contributions (FSAVCs)
• Small Self-Administered Schemes (SASS)
• Stakeholder pension plans
• Occupational Money Purchase Schemes
• Retirement Annuity Plans
• Recognised Overseas Pension schemes

If you’re not sure whether you can transfer, check with your current provider(s).

Yes, you can have a SIPP and a workplace pension and can pay into both at the same time. 

Once you’ve maximised your employer pension contributions, paying into a SIPP can be a great way to complement your workplace savings.

Yes, it’s possible for your employer to contribute in the same way as a workplace pension. You will need to ask them to do this, although they don’t have to accept.

Your level of tax relief is based on your income tax rate. Basic rate tax relief (20%) is added to your pension contributions automatically. So if you contribute £80, this will be topped up to £100.

If you are a higher rate (40%) or additional rate (45%) taxpayer, you can claim back the rest through a Self Assessment tax return.

Yes – there is no limit on how many pensions you can have. However, transferring pensions into one SIPP can make your retirement planning much simpler.

We make it easy to transfer other pensions into our SIPP. You can transfer when opening your account, or you can come back and do it later. Find out more about transfers.

Like all pensions, our SIPP has a generous contribution limit - up to 100% of your salary (capped at £60,000) per year.

This includes tax relief, so the maximum you can pay yourself is £48,000, and the remaining £12,000 would be added by the government.

When you die, any remaining money within your SIPP can pass to whoever you wish to receive. It’s important that you fill out an expression of wishes form to make sure it ends up in the right hands. 

Your beneficiaries usually won’t pay inheritance tax on any money they receive but might pay income tax on any withdrawals if you die after age 75. If you die before age 75, they can inherit the pot without paying income tax. 

When you reach age 75, you can continue to make personal payments to your SIPP, but you will not receive tax relief.

Your beneficiaries usually won’t pay inheritance tax on any money they receive but might pay income tax on any withdrawals if you die after age 75.

The main difference is choice. With a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension), you have complete control over how your pension is invested.

Other pensions usually give you some choice, but it is often limited to a small selection of your pension provider’s own funds.

The idea of choosing your own investments can be daunting, but as long as you take it slowly it’s not as difficult as it sounds.

• Our Quick-start Funds are a good place to start. Chosen by our experts, they are invested across a wide range of markets and sectors, which can help to reduce risk. Many experienced investors trust these funds, too.
• Our experts have also put together a range of recommendations to suit different investment goals. See our Super 60 investment list and ACE 40 ethical list.
• As an ii customer, you can get expert news and analysis sent straight to your inbox, and our Knowledge Centre is another good way to expand your knowledge.
• More confident investors can choose from a huge range of shares, funds, investment trusts and ETFs.

We’ve made it easy to transfer existing pensions to us. You can simply follow the instructions while opening an account, or you can do it later by logging in to your account and selecting ‘Cash & transfers’ followed by ‘Transfer in’.

You will need the account details for the pensions you want to transfer.

We don’t charge you for transferring in, but your other providers may charge exit fees, so check this before you begin.

Things to remember:

• Before you transfer, you should think carefully about whether you would be losing any benefits, such as employer contributions, guaranteed annuity rates, or a protected pension age that is lower than the Normal Minimum Pension Age (rising from 55 to 57 in 2028). If you are unsure, you should seek advice from a suitably qualified financial advisor.
• You should also check for any transfer-out fees from your current provider(s).

If you plan to hold both drawdown and non-drawdown pots in your SIPP, you cannot allocate specific investments to each pot separately.  This means that the value of each pot will change in line with the overall performance of all the investments in in the SIPP.

Transferring your pension as a cash payment usually takes 2 to 6 weeks to complete.

Transferring your existing investments will take longer – typically 8 to 12 weeks.

You can still contribute to your ii SIPP during this time.

Please note that these timeframes are a guide, starting from when you have sent all the forms and information we require. Transfers can take longer depending on the type of investments you hold.

Yes, and we would always encourage you to seek advice if you are unsure whether a SIPP is right for you.

If you are over 50, you can get free and impartial pensions guidance from Pension Wise.

Please note that financial advice is a legal requirement if you are transferring out of a defined benefit (e.g. final salary) or hybrid pension scheme worth more than £30,000.

Yes - you will still receive a 20% top-up on your contributions.

Even if you are unemployed and not earning anything, you can contribute up to £3,600 a year. This includes tax relief – so your personal contribution would be up to £2,880, with the remaining £720 coming from the government.