Pensions

[DaveP]

How do I go about getting my Ltd company to contribute to my personel pension.

Or do I have to convert a personel pension to a company pension.

Are there any tax advantages I can make from this now and/or later when pension matures.

[Gonzo]

How do I go about getting my Ltd company to contribute to my personel pension.

Or do I have to convert a personel pension to a company pension.

Are there any tax advantages I can make from this now and/or later when pension matures.

Pension rules are horrendously complicated because they have been tampered with extensively over the years, so what I say needs to be treated with extreme caution, but

I have a personal pension that is happy to take personal contributions and employer contributions. All they need to know when the cheque is sent in is which of those it is. That is because they don't claim a tax rebate if it is an employer contribution.

So if I make a personal contribution I send a cheque from my personal account, if I make a company contribution I send a cheque from the company account. That is about it.

[moorfield]

How do I go about getting my Ltd company to contribute to my personel pension.

Or do I have to convert a personel pension to a company pension.

Are there any tax advantages I can make from this now and/or later when pension matures.

Setting up a SIPP is probably the easiest route (Sippdeal or Hargreaves Lansdown are the most popular on here) as they are very easy to admin and contribute to on an ad hoc basis via your ltdco. You can also transfer any old pension pots you have into these (they now accept protected rights).

Despite being unpopular with some on here pensions are the biggest tax break left for us contractors (particularly those caught by IR35). And SIPPs offer more flexibility in where you invest and how you extract your cash through retirement ie you are not obliged to buy into hefty management charges or buy an annuity, and with some careful planning it will be quite possible to extract a tax free income through retirement.

[GreenerGrass]

Yes, what he said above.

You can probably keep your personal pension but my Scottish Widows one was so rubbish I set up a SIPP with Hargreaves Lansdown and transferred existing personal and previous company pension (including a protected rights pot) into it.

Easy to make company contributions, through monthly direct debit or ad hoc cheques when you feel like it. Tax efficient and no risk of IR35 claw back.

[PhilAtBFCA]

Pensions

DaveP

You can use either a personal pension or company pension for efficient tax planning in your company.

But please take good advice from an IFA, SIPP's can have high charges and how efficient it is for you will depend on contribution levels, existing arrangements etc..

Dont leave it too lon either, now is a good time so that you can get contributions into this tax year.

HTH

Phil

[Solidec]

What do people reccomend pension funds to be held as?

Stocks, Shares, Gold, Cash, Bonds, Gilts?

What holding carries the least overheads with regards to fees?

I like the idea of tax savings but hate the idea that I would still end up paying fees even if i were to run my own sipp, how does one go about minimizing running costs?

[davedave]

You don't need to have a SIPP to transfer other pension pots to, you can do this with the vast majority of pensions. A simple stakeholder pension will accept transfers from any eligible pension scheme, and will almost always have lower annual management charges than a SIPP.

As for taking the benefits on retirement, you also don't need a SIPP to have flexibility. With a stakeholder you can use various drawdown options, SIPP's offer no addiotnal benefit at retirement.

If you're planning on investing in traditional gilts, shares etc, there's no point in paying the higher charges of a SIPP

[pmeswani]

What do people reccomend pension funds to be held as?

Stocks, Shares, Gold, Cash, Bonds, Gilts?

What holding carries the least overheads with regards to fees?

I like the idea of tax savings but hate the idea that I would still end up paying fees even if i were to run my own sipp, how does one go about minimizing running costs?

I hold a mixture of funds. Some Gold, Some Bonds, Some Gilts and some specialist funds. Yes there is an annual fee for managing the funds... what did you expect? . Don't go for cheap for the sake of going for cheap. Go for something that would make your pension grow. The fees are small enough, unless your pension is at the upper threshold.

[moorfield]

What do people reccomend pension funds to be held as?

Stocks, Shares, Gold, Cash, Bonds, Gilts?

What holding carries the least overheads with regards to fees?

I like the idea of tax savings but hate the idea that I would still end up paying fees even if i were to run my own sipp, how does one go about minimizing running costs?

100% UK equities , I'm using the High Yield Portfolio model (see Motley Fool for details). 25+ yrs to go.
<£300 dealing charges/stamp duty per year, 0% fees, with Sippdeal.

[Solidec]

100% UK equities , I'm using the High Yield Portfolio model (see Motley Fool for details). 25+ yrs to go.
<£300 dealing charges/stamp duty per year, 0% fees, with Sippdeal.

Any performance figures to hand?