Sippchoice Limited is the Provider and Administrator of the Sippchoice Bespoke SIPP.  In order to keep the SIPP's assets separate from our own, all the SIPP's assets are held by a separate trustee company, Sippchoice Trustees Limited.

A separate interest-bearing bank account is set up with Bank of Scotland for each member and this is used for all the SIPP's transactions.  Uninvested cash does not have to be kept in this account and can be held on deposit with any other bank or building society of your choice.

You can choose your financial adviser or any fund manager to manage your SIPP's investments. Alternatively, you can choose and manage the investments yourself.

There are no restrictions in principle on the investments that can be made in your SIPP (although conditions apply to investments that are not regulated by the Financial Services Authority).  The types of investment that can be made include (but are not restricted to):

• bank and building society accounts
• quoted and unquoted securities, both UK and overseas
• unit trusts, investment trusts and open-ended investment companies
• direct investment in unquoted companies 
• commercial property that can be leased to any company, including the member's
• residential property (using an appropriate vehicle that meets certain conditions)
• loans to unconnected third parties (companies only)
• second-hand endowment policies.

Note: Sippchoice Limited reserves the right not to proceed with a particular investment request, or to impose special conditions/constraints and/or extra charges for doing so, depending on the administrative complexity and potential liability involved.

Yes.  Your SIPP can borrow up to the maximum permitted by HM Revenue & Customs, i.e. 50% of the SIPP's net value, for investment in commercial property or, indeed, for any other investment purpose.

Yes.  You (and anyone connected with you) can buy investments from, or sell investments to, your SIPP - these transactions must take place on an arm's length basis and be on commercial terms.

Cash deposits in your SIPP can be held with Bank of Scotland or with any other bank or building society account of your choice. However, only the Bank of Scotland account can be used for transactions.

There is no minimum contribution requirement for your SIPP.  Also, there are no restrictions on how much you can contribute to your SIPP, although there are restrictions on the contributions that qualify for tax relief. Contributions to your SIPP can be paid in cash or as an in-specie transfer of investments that you hold personally.

Your personal contributions to your SIPP are paid net of basic rate income tax and we will reclaim this tax from HM Revenue & Customs.  However, it can take 7 to 11 weeks for us to receive the tax reclaim.

Your SIPP can accept transfer payments from other registered pension schemes.  These can be in cash or as an in-specie transfer of investments from the transferring scheme.

Your SIPP will be able to accept transfer payments that include 'protected rights', i.e. pension rights arising from being contracted-out of the State Second Pension (formerly SERPS), once we receive the appropriate approval.  Any transferred-in ‘protected rights’ will be invested together with your other SIPP assets in a single portfolio.

You can normally take benefits from your SIPP at any time from the age of 55.  You do not need to retire from work in order to take benefits.

Yes.  You can usually take part of your pension fund as a tax-free lump sum (normally, up to 25% of the value of the pension fund, or 25% of the prevailing Lifetime Allowance, if less).  This would usually be paid as cash but it may be possible for it to be paid wholly or partly as an in-specie transfer of investments from your pension fund.

The remaining balance in your pension fund after the payment of the tax-free lump sum must be used to provide income payments – so-called ‘income drawdown’ – that are subject to income tax.

Capped Drawdown: The income payments are subject to a maximum amount that is normally calculated every three years up to age 75 and every year thereafter.

Flexible Drawdown: If you meet the relevant conditions then you can withdraw any amount(s) that you wish at any time without any maximum applying.

You can choose the frequency of regular income payments (monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or annually) and you can vary this at any time. Alternatively, or in addition, one-off income payments can be made at any time.

As an alternative to income drawdown your pension fund can be used to buy an annuity for you at any time but there is no requirement to do this.

No.  You can take benefits from your SIPP on a phased basis (so-called 'phased drawdown'), which allows enormous flexibility as to how and when you can take benefits.

You will have secure online access to details of your SIPP's investments, including the most recent valuations held in our records and the previous night's balance in your SIPP bank account.

Your SIPP will be administered by a dedicated team of experienced administrators, details of whom will be given to you.  This team will be responsible for looking after all aspects of your SIPP.

Definitely not.  We dislike call centres as much as you, so we will give you the direct phone number for the administration team that looks after your SIPP.  When you call us you will speak directly to a member of that team.

The fees for the Sippchoice Bespoke SIPP are clear and transparent and represent excellent value-for-money.  Full details of the are set out in the Fees Schedule on the Literature page.

If you wish to join the Sippchoice Bespoke SIPP then you will need to complete an application form and return it to us.  Before doing this you should obtain, and read, a copy of the Trust Deed and Rules, Terms and Conditions and the Key Features document, all of which can be obtained from the Literature page of this website or by phoning us on 020 7554 5615 or by emailing us.