Quote:
Originally Posted by mrypg9
But there are important differences between a SIPP and a stakeholder or personal pension which have implications for what you can do when it matures and for most ordinary rate taxpayers the advantages aren't so great -although a discount of 20% on a property worth £500000 isn't to be sniffed at!! For higher rate tax payers i.e. most business people the advantages are vconsiderable - which is why you cannot do what you like with them. After all, if you are getting a tax discount worth £200000 on such a property you can't expect to have your cake and eat it.
I think that a lot of people didn't read the small print or didn't get thorough advice from their accountant or whoever when they decided on a SIPP rather than another form of pension. If I remember rightly, setting up this kind of pension is quite complex -you need trustees and all this costs money.
SIPPS are IMHO best suited to people in business or who own assets - rented property for example -and who are not totally reliant on their SIPP for their retirement income.
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I do agree with you to a certain extent. SIPPS do tend to be for the more sophisticated investor and the charges are a bit higher than a normal stakeholder or personal pension.
However, it does depend on the provider you go with. For example the Standard Life SIPP is basically a personal pension with personal pension charges until you decide you want to use investments outside the standard company portfolio i.e external funds or commercial property. For most people this will not be an issue.
The most important thing is get advice from an IFA and if you are not sure, question, question, question. Any reputable adviser will be happy to answer your questions and will be keen to ensure that you know exactly what you are getting into.
ps.
I have used Standard Life simply as an example. It does not imply that I think their product is the best on the market or that I have anything against other companies products.