A more innovative approach to pensions for SMEs

You’ll all have heard about auto-enrolment in the context of pensions but if you’re an entrepreneur or small business owner you may have switched off, thinking it doesn’t fit your needs.

All employees between 22 and state pension age, whose yearly income exceeds £10,000 and who are employed in the UK must be now be enrolled in a scheme.

However, many of the companies we deal with (especially smaller businesses) are finding that the ‘standard’ offerings for auto-enrolment pensions are not flexible enough for their needs, especially where there is an appetite for using pensions as part of the employee reward package rather than simply in order to comply with the legislation.

We’re able to help entrepreneurs and small business owners to look beyond ‘standard’ auto-enrolment schemes which are also auto-enrolment compliant but provide the greater flexibility they desire, particularly for key staff members. These can include personal pensions, Group personal pensions or SIPPs and can also include a company SSAS.

How to incorporate a SSAS (Small Self-Administered Scheme) into your pension plans

Not everyone has heard of a SSAS but if you’re a small business owner, family business or entrepreneur with a growing company, they could be ideal for you. One of the advantages of a SSAS is that it gives the sponsoring employer more freedom than a traditional pension or than a SIPP (Self-Invested Personal Pension) over where the funds are invested. 

The Trustees of the scheme are free to make investment decisions within the parameters set by HMRC and this allows for a wide variety of options so long as the investment is genuine and made in the interests of members and their beneficiaries.  For example the scheme could purchase:

• Shares (including up to 5% of the fund value in shares of the sponsoring company)
• Equities
• Commercial property
• Business assets for the sponsoring company
• Land
• Gold bullion
• Cash
• Investment trusts

The scheme can also loan money to the sponsoring business or another business.

Agreement from all members (who are also all Trustees) is required to make investment decisions and for this reason a SSAS must have a maximum of 12 members in the plan.

How can we help?

At Sestini & Co Pension Trustees Ltd we provide bespoke pension administration services to support those who wish to take control of their retirement plans and act as Professional Trustees for SSAS schemes.