SIPP FAQs

It is a personal pension wrapper that can hold a wide range of permitted assets both directly and through collectives. This offers you a greater level of flexibility and control over investment choices which is good if you use it. Should you only want a more limited investment choice, we offer a single portfolio SIPP or you may be able to access this more cost-effectively without the SIPP wrapper cost. If you need to discuss your options, please contact your authorised and regulated Financial Adviser. If you do not have an adviser, please view dentonswealth.co.uk, societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk, thepfs.org/yourmoney/find-an-adviser/, unbiased.co.uk, or vouchedfor.co.uk.

HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) has accepted our SIPPs as registered pension schemes. For the full asset SIPP (Dentons SIPP) you will be a trustee of your Plan together with our associated trustee company - Denton & Co. Trustees Limited. This approach provides you with a greater degree of control over your Plan and in the investment selection process.

A SIPP is used to build up pension funds in your Plan for your retirement and for you to have control over the investment of those funds. This type of pension vehicle is mainly used for its greater flexibility and range of investments offered over other forms of pensions.

Other personal pension plans usually only allow a limited range of investments and are generally lower in cost. If you think that a pension other than a SIPP with Dentons may be suitable for you, please contact your Financial Adviser.

If you do not have an adviser, please view dentonswealth.co.uk, societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk, thepfs.org/yourmoney/find-an-adviser/, unbiased.co.uk, or vouchedfor.co.uk.

For each individual member, a default bank account is set up.

This account is intended to be the central transaction account for the SIPP, i.e., all the SIPPs transactions must go through this account.

There is no requirement for cash balances to be maintained in this account and cash can be transferred to another deposit account of the SIPP member's choice.

No. Neither Dentons' full asset SIPP or the single portfolio SIPP are a Stakeholder Pension.

If you think that a Stakeholder Pension may be suitable for you, please contact your Financial Adviser. If you do not have an adviser, please view dentonswealth.co.uk, societyoflaterlifeadvisers.co.uk, thepfs.org/yourmoney/find-an-adviser/, unbiased.co.uk, or vouchedfor.co.uk.

No, a SIPP is for an individual. 

The full asset SIPP, which offers a full range of assets, is operated under a 'Master Trust' with each individual's Plan established under a separate sub-trust with the Plan holder appointed as a co-trustee, with our bare trustee company, Denton & Co Trustees Limited. You and Denton & Co Trustees Limited will be the legal owners of the Plan fund and assets.

This means that your Plan fund and assets are ring-fenced from other individuals' Plans within the full asset SIPP and from Dentons itself.

The single portfolio SIPP, which is a single investment SIPP with an approved portfolio or platform, is operated under a single trust.

Dentons Pension Management Limited (Dentons Pensions) is the Provider and Scheme Administrator of the SIPP and is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority under reference 461094.

When you decide to draw benefits, the value of your Plan will depend on a number of factors.

These include how much is paid in, how long the payments are invested for, how well the investments perform and the charges taken from your Plan. The amount of your pension will depend on the circumstances at that time, including interest rates, your age at retirement and the type of pension you choose.

The full asset SIPP is a registered personal pension that puts you in full control of your retirement funds by taking advantage of a wide range of investment opportunities. The full asset SIPP can hold multiple investments including commercial property, collectives and investment portfolios.

The single portfolio SIPP is a registered personal pension scheme that allows you to make investment in a single portfolio with an investment manager or platform that is on Dentons' approved list and does not include any non-standard assets.

To be eligible for a full asset SIPP and the single portfolio SIPP you will need a minimum fund size of £50,000 and one of the following must apply:

• You are a UK resident for tax purposes
• You are in receipt of earnings which are chargeable to UK income tax
• You or your spouse, has general earnings from overseas Crown employment subject to UK tax
• You are a non-UK resident with a qualifying UK Pension Plan or Plans relating to previous UK residency/employment

Before applying for a full asset SIPP or single portfolio SIPP, it is important that you read the product Key Features and Terms and Conditions of Business. These documents can be found:

• Full asset SIPP literature
• Single portfolio SIPP literature

If you decide that a full asset SIPP or single portfolio SIPP is suitable for you, the application can be completed online or downloaded and posted to us.

Before starting the SIPP application, you will require the following information:

• National Insurance Number 
• Lifetime allowance protection certificate(s) (if appliable)
• Evidence of identity and address
• Details of the existing pension scheme(s), if the intention is to transfer it to the SIPP
• Details of the previous years' pension contributions, if the intention is to contribute to the SIPP
• Completed Commercial Property Questionnaire or relevant Investment Questionnaire

You must be satisfied that a SIPP is suitable for you. A SIPP with Dentons is generally suitable for investors that have built up pension funds in excess of £50,000 and are happy to pay slightly higher fees and charges for the extra flexibility, investment control and service provided.

The wide range of assets that are available with Dentons full asset SIPP is generally not available with many other types of pension. It is important that you are satisfied that the investments you choose are suitable for you. In addition, you need to consider the liquidity of certain investments especially if you are close to retirement. Some higher risk investments may incur additional charges.

Prior to making certain 'high risk' investments we will require you to complete the relevant investment questionnaire: please see the non-standard assets section within the Permitted Assets form for more information.

Please note: Dentons is unable to advise you on the suitability of your chosen investments and we do have the right to veto certain investments especially if they contravene HMRC rules. However, we can provide factual information about SIPPs and Dentons.

Investment risks: past performance is no guarantee that this can be repeated and should not be considered as an indication of what can be achieved in the future. It is important that you understand the risks that you are accepting when making investments.

Yes, the parent or Legal Guardian of a child under the age of 18, can open a Plan for the child, as long as the child is resident in the UK.

Please note: Dentons has a minimum fund size of £50,000 and contributions to a SIPP for a child are restricted to £3,600 per annum including tax relief.

We designed our SIPPs to provide you with various levels of investment flexibility from an extensive range of asset classes to more straightforward approaches. We will consider most assets but some we do not allow.

Please download a copy of our Permitted Assets to find out more:

• Full asset SIPP permitted assets
• Single portfolio SIPP permitted assets
• Dentons SSAS permitted assets.

We would recommend that you seek financial advice before making any investment decisions. Dentons will not provide advice on the suitability of assets however we reserve the right to refuse to hold any proposed investment within your Plan. If you need advice before making any decision, please contact your Financial Adviser.

Dentons requires a minimum fund size of £50,000. This is the level at which we believe the administration costs of running your Plan become economic.

Commercial property can be held within the full asset SIPP either on its own or alongside other investments.

The SIPP member as the trustee, along with other joint parties where applicable will be the registered owners of the property at the Land Registry however a 'Restriction' will be placed on the Land Register to prevent sale or mortgage of the property without the consent of Dentons' bare trustee company.

Yes, the full asset SIPP can borrow up to the maximum permitted by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), i.e., 50% of the SIPP's net value, for investment in commercial property for example. Borrowing is not allowed with the single portfolio SIPP.

For the full asset SIPP an individual (and anyone connected with that individual including a company) can buy investments from, or sell investments to, the SIPP - these transactions must take place on an arm's length basis and be on commercial terms.

You can make one-off or regular payments into your Plan to take advantage of the generous tax benefits available to you at any time.

As long as you are a UK resident or you have relevant UK earnings chargeable to income tax, you, your employer or anyone else can pay contributions into your Plan.

Tax relief in any tax year will normally be available on any personal payments you make to your Plan up to the greater of £3,600 a year or 100% of your relevant UK earnings subject to a maximum annual allowance of £60,000. This allowance may be tapered down to £10,000 if you have 'adjusted income' (which includes all taxable income and investment income) of more than £260,000 in a tax year. Once you have flexibly accessed your benefits (e.g. you have taken a flexi-access drawdown pension payment or an uncrystallised funds pension lump sum), a money purchase annual allowance of £10,000 will apply.

Personal contributions must be paid net of basic rate tax, which we reclaim from HMRC and pay into your Plan.

Please note: that contributions paid for you by anyone other than you or your employer are treated as your personal contributions.

No tax relief is available on personal contributions after age 75.

Your employer can also contribute to your Plan provided that the combined amount of employer and personal employee contributions do not exceed the annual allowance, tapered annual allowance or the money purchase annual allowance, whichever applies to you.

You can transfer existing pension benefits with other providers to your SIPP with Dentons. However you will need to consider whether there are any penalties or exit charges for transferring.

Before accepting a transfer of more than £30,000 from a scheme with safeguarded benefits (including defined benefit/final salary benefits) into your Plan, we require written confirmation that you have received a positive recommendation to transfer from a Pension Transfer Specialist. Our Transfers from a scheme offering safeguarded benefits form must be fully completed and accompany your full asset SIPP or single portfolio SIPP Application form. We are only able to process a safeguarded benefits transfer when we are in receipt of the fully completed application forms, including the above form. From this date of receipt, we will require a minimum of 7 working days prior to the transfer expiry deadline.

This is to protect you by ensuring that you fully understand the impact of the potential loss of any safeguarded benefits before you decide whether to transfer them.

Please note: we do not accept transfers from 'insistent clients' (i.e. those who have either taken no advice or still want to transfer despite a negative recommendation from a Pension Transfer Specialist).

The establishment fee is normally deducted once the SIPP is established. All other fees are normally deducted six monthly in arrears.

Dentons' standard fees can be paid personally rather than having them deducted from the SIPP's default bank account.

Some of the costs for establishing your Plan are fixed but others are on a time-cost basis, meaning you only pay for the services you need.

Our SIPPs headline fees are as follows:
 

Our fees are outlined in the full asset SIPP Fee Schedule and single portfolio SIPP Fee Schedule.