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Small Self Administered Schemes (SSAS)
What is it?
A Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) is a type of pension scheme that is set up by an employer usually for a select number of directors. It differs from a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) in that it is a separate scheme for the employer and our costs are charged per scheme rather than per member.
Who is it for?
You may be particularly interested in a SSAS if you are a business-owner and wish to use existing and/or future pension monies to interact with your business or simply wish to have a pension arrangement that is not tied down to one provider. Your SSAS would be able to own your company premises for leaseback or lend monies to your company so that you pay loan interest to your own pension rather than to your bank.
Why would you want one?
The Barnett Waddingham SSAS gives you complete control over who you select to provide services to your pension scheme. We would take care of the scheme administration and due to the nature of SSASs we would act as a professional trustee to assist in the process and to guide you generally in relation to the scheme. You would be free to choose your own scheme bankers, investment advisers, solicitors, accountants and investment providers as you see fit.
We offer a high interest current account (0.25% below bank base rate for deposits of all sizes) and a no-notice deposit account paying an even higher rate.
What it costs
There is a one-off fee for providing the documentation to set up a SSAS and after that we charge a regular fee for acting as a trustee and administrator and to cover any other pieces of work that arise - such as retirement planning, provision of loan documentation etc. Click on the link below for a note on our current fees.
A wide range of investments
One key reason why our SSASs are so popular is that they offer a wide range of investments that may be selected by the pension holder or their adviser. You may choose your banker or use our preferred account which pays 0.25% below base rate for deposits of all sizes. We can also set up a no-notice deposit account for your pension fund that currently pays at least at base rate.
Investment into stock markets can be made directly by using online trading platforms or through an appointed stockbroker. We also welcome direct investment into boutique fund managers and our associated company,
Barnett Waddingham Investments LLP, is happy to assist with the placement of investments.
Property investment and leasing back to your company
If you are interested in property, we pride ourselves as being expert in dealing with pension property transactions. You may appoint your own solicitor and property manager and we will guide them and you through the process. Pension monies may be used for land and commercial property transactions, but residential property cannot be purchased. The property can be leased to your company and scheme is able to transact with you or your company over the property sale/purchase.
If finance is required, you may approach your own bankers or we can put you in touch with local bank managers. Pension funds may gear up within certain limits to help fund a property purchase, for example.
Lending your pension money to your company
Uniquely, funds in SSASs can be loaned to the sponsoring employer provided certain criteria are met and loans to do not exceed 50% of fund value. If this is of interest to you, we would be pleased to discuss further.
Further information
We have some leaflets available for download if you wish to learn more about the above investment options and our consultants would be pleased to hear from you directly if you wish to discuss this over the telephone or face-to-face.
Please click here for contact details.
Related DocumentsA Guide to SSAS (824.03 KB, .pdf)SSAS Services and Fees - 2012 (117.36 KB, .pdf)