SSAS Planning
Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSASs) were introduced in 1979 (even before Sipps) and act like a company pension but for small companies. Unlike Sipps they are not a personal pension but an occupational pension. This means that they are set-up by the company and not the individual. They are also structured as a single large pension pot in which the members have a % share and not individual pots like Sipps. Due to the link to a single employer a SSAS can lend money back to the company.
In most other respects a SSAS is just like a Sipp, the tax benefits are the same as any other type of pension and the investment options are broad.
SSASs are not common these days as most of the same benefits can be achieved with a Sipp. They can be useful for family run businesses though, who want to include family and senior staff in a single scheme.
At Altor we do advise several families who still have SSASs in place.
SSAS planning is available to Altor clients in our Core Service.
Nothing on this website or its links constitutes a personal recommendation; the information contained is designed to be informative but not to be relied upon as individual circumstances could affect the relevance of this guidance.