Setting up a personal pension - IR35 | Umbrella

[AJOHN]

Hello friends,

I'm a budding IT contractor who just accepted a new contract that falls under IR35. I am trying to set up a personal pension so that I can get tax relief and avoid being on the higher tax paying bracket. I'm looking for opinions from seasoned contractors on what they did when they got hit by IR35 especially when it came to setting up pensions etc.

1. I need to go via an umbrella company (Nasa) who can process payments to the pension pot directly from the Gross income
2. Would you recommend using a financial advisor for setting up a pension? I had a quote from a company called Fairstone who quoted £500 for setting up and then 1% charge annually for managing the funds. Is this reasonable?
3. What types of pensions did you go for ? (SIPP, SSAS etc) Would be grateful if you could explain you reasons of choosing it
4. Have anyone used P87 form to claim back expenses (training for IT certs, IT equipment (desk, monitors, chair etc) and anything else that is applicable)
5. Is there any other things that I should be aware about?

Highly appreciate the help guys.

[SuperLooper]

Would you recommend using a financial advisor for setting up a pension? I had a quote from a company called Fairstone who quoted £500 for setting up and then 1% charge annually for managing the funds. Is this reasonable?

Have a look at Penfold. Very easy setup, 0.75% annual fee. I'm quite impressed at the simplicity and smoothness of it so far.

Let me know if you want a referral link so we both get an extra £25 free.

[AJOHN]

Will do Superlooper.

Thanks for the suggestion.

[AJOHN]

Have a look at Penfold. Very easy setup, 0.75% annual fee. I'm quite impressed at the simplicity and smoothness of it so far.

Let me know if you want a referral link so we both get an extra £25 free.

Will do, thanks for the suggestion

[SueEllen]

Never use an Financial Advisor to set up a pension as you end up paying for them out of your pension pot and so reducing your pension pot.

[Fred Bloggs]

Go to A J Bell YouInvest. No cost to set up a SIPP. 0.25% annual management fee. Very wide range of investment options. No need for an advisor, no need to pay more. Simple, easy, cheap. HTH.

Disclosure- My family invest with A J Bell. I invest with Interactive Investor since the size of my pot means their flat fee structure is lower cost thn a per centage based platform.

[AJOHN]

Thank you guys,

Out of curiosity, what types of pension would you recommend? SIPP, SSAS or a standard personal pension plan? Could you share your thoughts on those, please?

[SueEllen]

Most of us were contractors before the IR35 changes so have SIPPS.

If you are new to investing have a look at tracker funds as they tend to have minimal fees.

Though I would suggest you do your own research on what type of pension you should use and what funds are best to invest in.

[Fred Bloggs]

Thank you guys,

Out of curiosity, what types of pension would you recommend? SIPP, SSAS or a standard personal pension plan? Could you share your thoughts on those, please?

SIPPs are the industry default on retail platforms. For 99% of us that's what we need.