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SIPPs Explained

Important information - the value of investments can go down as well as up so you may not get back what you invest. Eligibility to invest in a SIPP and tax treatment depends on personal circumstances and all tax rules may change. You cannot normally access your pension until age 55 (57 from 2028). It’s important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone.

SIPP: Guide and information

We want to make saving for retirement as simple as possible. If you’re thinking about putting your money into a self-invested personal pension (SIPP), it’s sensible to make sure it’s right for you. We’ve pulled together a list of our most popular SIPP FAQs in one place to answer your questions. If you can’t find what you’re looking for, we have plenty of more information in our help and support section too.  

A SIPP or self-invested personal pension is a tax-efficient way to start saving for your retirement. SIPPs give you control over how your pension savings are invested and your savings generally grow free of UK income and capital gains tax.

With a SIPP you can invest in assets including: unit trusts, shares, cash or open-ended investment companies. In addition, for any contributions you make the government pays in tax relief at 20%. If you pay a higher rate of tax, you can usually claim additional relief through your tax return.

Contributions can be made by you, an employer or by someone else on your behalf. You can also bring existing pensions together in a SIPP.

Explore our SIPP or
Find out more about SIPPs

There is no limit on the number of SIPPs that you can have. However, there is an annual limit regarding how much tax relief you can get on pension contributions.

Refer to the SIPP contributions & allowances section for more information on pension limits.

Yes, you can hold a SIPP together with a workplace or personal pension that you may have with us or another pension provider. This includes legacy defined benefit schemes, defined contribution schemes or stakeholder pensions.

Find out more about how many pensions you can have

Getting started with a Fidelity SIPP

Explore our SIPP

See more of what our SIPP has to offer and start a regular savings plan from £20 or make a lump sum payment of at least £800.

Transfer SIPP

Get to know more about transferring your pension to our award-winning SIPP. We can help you to make your money work harder for retirement.

Open a SIPP

Fidelity’s flexible, award-winning SIPP is a great way to save for retirement with significant tax benefits. You choose what to invest in and can contribute in lump sums or with regular savings.

Opening a SIPP FAQs

To be able to open a SIPP you need to be either a:

  • UK resident or
  • Crown servant performing duties abroad or
  • married to or in a civil partnership with a Crown servant

If you wish to make contributions to the Fidelity SIPP you need to be:

  • under the age of 75 and a
  • UK resident for tax purposes or a
  • Crown servant performing duties abroad or
  • married to or in a civil partnership with a Crown servant

If you are a US person you cannot open a SIPP with Fidelity.

The SIPP Application form can be filled out online or downloaded and posted to us. We'll ask you a few questions such as your National Insurance number and whether you have taken any money out of your pension.

If you want a SIPP for someone under the age of 18, you can apply for a Junior SIPP online or download a Junior SIPP form and complete and return it to us by post.

Yes, providing you are a UK resident and living in the UK at the time of your application you can open a SIPP with us.

When you have decided to retire and want to take money from your pension, you can do so overseas but we may not be able to offer all the income options and any money will still need to be paid into a UK bank account.

Please note that moving overseas will limit the investment options available to you.

SIPP contributions & allowance FAQs

You can continue contributing to the Fidelity SIPP until the age of 75. It is also worth noting that contributions aren't eligible for tax relief after the age of 75.

To get an indication of the annual income you may need in retirement and how much you may need to save to achieve this you can use our retirement calculator.

Anyone can contribute to your SIPP as a single or regular contributor. You will be eligible to receive tax relief on any contributions made on your behalf by another individual subject to you having relevant earnings and subject to your annual allowance.

An employer may also choose to contribute to your SIPP. You will not be eligible to receive tax relief on any contributions made by an employer.

If you wish to receive contributions from a 3rd party or your employer but do not have an open SIPP account, please go to the SIPP account opening page and follow the online instructions.

If you have an existing SIPP account, and wish to receive contributions from a 3rd party or your employer please Log in to your online account. To complete a one-off contribution, select 'Manage investments' from the top of the page and 'Add cash'. Under 'Who is making the payment' select 'someone else' or ‘my employer’ and then follow the online instructions. To set up regular contributions select 'Manage investments' then 'Regular Savings Plan' and click the 'create' button next to your pension. Under 'Who will be paying into this plan' select 'someone else' or ‘my employer’ and then follow the online instructions. If you are setting up regular payments you will also need to complete the 'Employer Contributions Record of Payments Due' form.

No, we only accept monetary contributions into the Fidelity SIPP as either a lump sum or regular payments.

There is no limit on the amount that can be paid into a pension You can get tax relief on pension contributions up to the Annual Allowance of £60,000 (capped at the amount you earn if this is less or to £3,600 if you have no or very low earnings). You can make use of unused annual allowances from the previous three tax years if you’ve used up your annual allowance for the current tax year. This is called Carry Forward and you can find out more about it here.

The limit applies across all your pension savings, not per scheme and includes the value of any tax relief that is added to the contributions. Contributions can be made from yourself, your employer or on your behalf by somebody else.

If the contributions to your pension exceed the amount you can get tax relief on (as outlined in the paragraph above), a tax charge may become payable. This effectively takes back any excess tax relief given at source. 

If you have already taken taxable money from your pension or have income of more than £200,000 per year, your annual allowance may be reduced. See information on the Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) and Tapered Annual Allowance (TAA) for more details.

Find out more about the maximum you can pay into a SIPP

If you go over your annual allowance, you will normally face a tax charge which claws back any excess tax relief you’ve received. Broadly speaking, you can work out your charge by adding the amount you have gone over the annual allowance (less any carry forward amounts if available) to your taxable income for the year. The annual allowance charge is then calculated at your highest tax rate.

If you are required to pay an annual allowance charge, you may have to pay the charge directly to HMRC yourself; typically, through self-assessment or it may be possible for the charge to be deducted from your pension savings, this is known as Scheme Pays.

The lump sum allowance (LSA) is the maximum amount of tax-free cash you can take from your pension savings in your lifetime. You can take 25% of your pot tax-free, as long as this amount is not higher than the LSA. 

Some people might have a higher allowance if they also had a higher protected lifetime allowance.

Read more about the lump sum allowance

If you have used up your annual allowance for the current tax year carry forward allows you to make use of unused annual allowances from the three previous tax years. This means you may be able to contribute more to your pension pot this current tax year and still benefit from tax relief (subject to having relevant earnings equivalent to the amount you want to contribute). Other conditions may also apply.

Note that if you are subject to a tapered annual allowance in any given year, any unused annual allowance must be worked out with reference to your tapered annual allowance (which may differ between years).

You will also not be able to use carry forward to pay into a money purchase pension arrangement if you have withdrawn taxable money from your pension pot using the pension freedoms (and are therefore subject to the money purchase annual allowance).

See more details on the carry forward allowance.

Personal pension tax FAQs

You will not have to pay tax on money whilst it remains in your pension pot. You will normally only pay tax if you withdraw money from the pension pot. Up to 25% of your pension pot is usually tax-free (up to your lump sum allowance) and any further money that is taken will be taxed just like any other earnings.

However, there are two other occasions which may result in paying tax on the savings within your pension pot:

  • exceeding your annual allowance (see more details on the Annual Allowance)
  • when you die and there is still money remaining in the pension, your beneficiaries could pay tax depending on a range of factors

Find out about the ways of taking money from a pension and how the tax works or more about tax-free cash.

The amount of tax you may have to pay will depend on your financial circumstances and the withdrawal method you choose.

Broadly speaking any money that is withdrawn from your pension pot, above the tax-free amount, is taxable at your highest rate of tax. This means, the money you take from your pot will be added to any other income you have for that tax year including State Pension payments, benefits and salary etc. to determine your overall level of tax for that tax year. Before paying you any money from a pension, the provider will apply tax based on a tax code from HMRC or on an emergency tax basis. This could mean tax is over or underpaid and needs to be reclaimed.

If you withdraw over a number of different tax years, you may pay less tax than if you take it all in one go.

You can speak to Pension Wise (MoneyHelper), HMRC or a financial adviser to further understand how your income option decision will determine the amount of tax you will pay.

The Government has announced that from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person's estate for IHT purposes. Inheritance Tax (IHT) is the tax paid (by the executor of the will, not the beneficiaries) on the value of someone's estate when they pass away. The word 'estate' sounds grand, but it really just refers to the property, money, possession, savings and other investments someone owns, like ISAs. Pensions are often currently excluded from the estate and the tax implications differ - but based on the Government’s announcement this is due to change. We will update our website as more information becomes available, but in the meantime find out more about IHT here.

Pension tax relief is intended to help you save for retirement with money that would otherwise have gone to the government. This doesn’t mean you won’t have to pay tax on that money in the future, simply that you don’t have to pay tax on it now.

For example, a £1 contribution today typically costs you 80p if you live in the UK and are a basic-rate taxpayer and as little as 60p if you’re a higher-rate taxpayer and 55p if you pay additional-rate tax. Exactly how it works will depend on the way your pension scheme operates its tax relief. Rates of tax relief for Scottish Residents may differ from the rest of the UK.

Find out more about pension tax relief

Investing in a SIPP FAQs

Fidelity’s SIPP allows you to invest in a wide range of funds, UK shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs). We don’t currently offer US or international shares when investing in our SIPP but other SIPP providers may differ. You choose where to invest but if you’re unsure, please speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.

Find out more about your investing options.

You cannot invest your personal pension in property with Fidelity. Other providers may offer this.

You can hold any number of investments in your SIPP. Spreading your money across different assets (for example, funds, UK shares, investment trusts and exchange-traded funds (ETFs)) could help to diversify your portfolio and balance out the ups and downs of the market.

You can read our principles for good investing for more guidance.

It’s important to keep in mind that the value of investments can go down as well as up, so you may get back less than you invest.

We have various measures in place to protect you and your investments to make sure they are as secure as possible. Find out more about how we protect you.

In addition, the Fidelity SIPP is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS). If we are unable to meet our obligations you may be entitled to compensation from the scheme. Further information on the scheme is available at fscs.org.uk or in the Fidelity Client Terms.

Please note Exchange Traded Instruments and offshore funds (including Exchange Traded Funds) are not covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme.

Accessing your SIPP FAQs

Yes, with the Fidelity SIPP this is usually possible once you've reached the normal minimum pension age (NMPA) of 55 (57 from 2028). Until then, your money will be held within your SIPP in the investments you have selected and you cannot withdraw it unless you have a medical condition that prevents you from working. Learn more about the NMPA.

You can access your pension in three different ways: flexible retirement income (pension drawdown), taking lump sums or guaranteed income (annuity).

Find out more about how you can access your money.

If you’re thinking about withdrawing money from your pension there are a few important things to think about:

  • different pensions allow you to access your money in different ways
  • the way you take your money can depend on the type of pension you have now and how you might want to access your pension savings in the future

 

Once you’re eligible you can normally withdraw all or some of your tax-free cash any time or leave it where it is and include it in your retirement plan. Bear in mind, withdrawing it in small portions over several years could make your overall income more tax efficient. Find out more about tax-free cash.

Generally, pension money can be passed on to beneficiaries tax-free if the pension holder dies before age 75, but after age 75, any money you pass on will be taxable subject to income tax at your beneficiaries relevant rate.. The tax your beneficiaries pay will depend on the age you are when you die and their individual tax position when they withdraw it.

The Government has announced that from 6 April 2027, most unused pension funds and death benefits will be included within the value of a person's estate for IHT purposes. Inheritance Tax (IHT) is the tax paid (by the executor of the will, not the beneficiaries) on the value of someone's estate when they pass away. The word 'estate' sounds grand, but it really just refers to the property, money, possession, savings and other investments someone owns, like ISAs. Pensions are often currently excluded from the estate and the tax implications differ - but based on the Government’s announcement this is due to change. We will update our website as more information becomes available, but in the meantime find out more about IHT here.

SIPP transfer FAQs

Yes, you can transfer your pension to us. When you move your pension (minimum transfer value of £100) to us, we’ll reimburse any exit fees that your former providers charge you, up to a maximum of £500 per customer. Of course, you need to decide whether these fees will impact the future value of your pension. You should also check your pension for valuable benefits that you may give up by moving your pension.

You can find out more about transferring your pension with our pension transfer factsheet or on our pension transfer page.

No, you can't transfer your ISA into a SIPP.

Not unless you die or we are ordered to do so by a court (for example as part of divorce proceedings).

We don't charge anything to transfer your pension to another provider or to receive a pension transfer from another provider. But please be aware that your current provider may charge for transferring away from them, so it is always best to check.

In some cases you may be required to take advice in order to transfer which is likely to have a cost to you. Find out more about the circumstances in which advice may be required.

If you would like someone to check your pensions for valuable benefits or you need or want advice on transferring your pension, you can speak to Fidelity’s retirement team or find an adviser through the money advice service online directory of regulated advisers.

Combining pensions together FAQs

If you’ve built up several pension pots over your working life, you can bring them together in a Fidelity Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) and this could help you to get your money working harder.

Before going ahead with a pension transfer, we strongly recommend that you undertake a full comparison of the benefits, charges and features offered.

Read our pension transfer factsheet.

If you’re in any doubt about whether a pension transfer is suitable for your circumstances we strongly recommend that you seek advice from an authorised financial adviser.

Consolidating your pensions has been made even easier with our online pension transfer journey. If you’re an existing customer with us, you can start your pension transfer here. Alternatively, you can download the Fidelity SIPP Transfer Application Form or call 0800 368 1722 if you’d like us to send you one. Before you apply to transfer a pension you’ve taken retirement benefits from, you must speak to Fidelity's retirement service. They’ll discuss the transfer with you and prepare the application form. We’re unable to accept an online application for these types of transfers.

Before taking the next step, please read the following important information.

It’s important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone. Before going ahead with a pension transfer, we strongly recommend that you undertake a full comparison of the benefits, charges and features offered. To find out what else you should consider before transferring, please read our transfer factsheet. If you’re in any doubt whether or not a pension transfer is suitable for your circumstances, we strongly recommend that you seek advice from one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.

Please note that if your pensions are moved to us as cash, you’ll be out of the market while your money is being transferred, so you could miss out on growth and income if the market rises during this time. If you transfer investments that are not supported by Fidelity, they’ll be sold and moved to us as cash, which means that you’ll be out of the market until you choose new investments. If your existing pension provider has signed up to an industry accepted paperless transfer service, your transfer should be completed in up to 10 working days. If not, the transfer could take up to 14 weeks but could be longer as the process is reliant on prompt action by your existing providers.

We won’t charge you for bringing your pensions together and we’ll cover up to £500 if your current providers charge exit fees per customer (minimum transfer value of £100). Read our terms and conditions.

There will always be ongoing fund charges for investing and administering your pension money and this will influence the level of your pension fund over time.

You should be able to find out the annual service charges you’re paying in addition to the ongoing charges by contacting your pension scheme. You can then compare them with our charges - with a self-invested personal pension, you’d pay our standard service fee of just 0.35% or only 0.2% if you hold more than £250,000 with us including any other accounts plus ongoing fund charges.

Please note that we may also require evidence of advice on some transfers. Advisers will charge a fee for this advice.

If you have no evidence of your membership of a pension scheme, or can’t remember if you were a member, you can find a lost pension online through: www.gov.uk/find-pension-contact-details.

SIPP fees & charges FAQs

  • If you have between £25,000 and £250,000 invested with us, you will pay our standard service fee of 0.35%.
  • If you have more than £250,000 invested, you will benefit from our lower service fee of 0.20%.  We do not charge you a service fee on any investments above £1 million.
  • If you have less than £25,000 invested, you will pay a flat-rate fee of £90 a year, that’s only £7.5 a month. However, if you set up a regular savings plan, you will be eligible for our standard service fee of 0.35%.
  • There is no service fee on junior accounts, or on exchange-traded investments held in an Investment Account.

There are also charges set by the company managing any funds you own and charges related to share dealing. For a comprehensive view of our fees and charges please visit our fees and charges page.

We deduct your service fee around the 1st of every month. This is calculated based on the total value of your investments held over the previous month.

When you pay service fees, they are always taken from your Cash Management Account.

  • If you have cash in there, we will take your fees from this rather than any tax-wrapped ISA and SIPP investments you may have.

  • If you don't have enough cash in there, we will sell from your investments to make up the outstanding balance and transfer that to the Cash Management Account. When we do this, we have a hierarchy and start by selling from your largest investment by value and by asset class. This means for example we would take the fee from the largest fund before we take it from an exchange-traded fund or investment trust.

Find out more about our fees.

Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular product, service or course of action. Pension and retirement planning can be complex, so if you are unsure about the suitability of a pension investment, retirement service or any action you need to take, please contact Fidelity’s retirement service on 0800 084 5045 or refer to an authorised financial adviser of your choice.

Trying to manage pensions across different providers can be both time-consuming and difficult. Bringing them together into Fidelity’s Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) can help you take control and plan ahead more effectively.