About Self invested personal pensions

Self invested personal pensions (SIPPs) are personal pensions which allow you to choose where you want your investments to go. With a normal personal pension plan the pension fund manager would make these investment decisions.

A SIPP allows a wide variety of investment choices from investment funds and shares to commercial property and futures and options.

SIPPs were launched in 1989 and recent competition from SIPP providers means that the charges are now much more competitive.

SIPPs are an upgraded version of a Personal Pension Plan (PPP) and so abide by the personal pension rules. The main difference is the self invested nature where you can choose where your money goes. SIPPs can also be used to invest in commercial property such as offices, industrial units or shops. A u-turn by the Government a few years ago reversed a decision to allow SIPPs to invest in residential property. If your SIPP fund does not have enough cash to buy a commercial proeprty then you can borrow money, within certain parameters, to help with the purchase.

Self invested personal pensions (SIPP) are a very versatile pension investment but they require expert pensions advice and so we would recommend always seeking independent financal advice from an IFA who is experienced with SIPPs.