Noob SIPP question for company owners

[Jessica@WhiteFieldTax]

Resurrecting this discussion to get some clarification.

1) I have my own LTD and set up a Stakeholder Pension Plan (SPP) where I pay each year up to the max 50K (40K from this coming year) whereas my annual salary is only 15K, plus dividends. I assumed it was OK and wasn't challenged by my accountant, did I get it wrong?

2) If I transfer my SPP into a SIPP, can I continue paying the annual 40K in the SIPP directly from the company, with the same tax advantage? (I would prefer a SIPP to reduce the costs, but only if it provides the same advantage)

Many thanks

1 On facts given, you are correct and did not get anything wrong. However the allowance is already £40k, not £50k and coming down - changed for 14/15.

2 You should be able to transfer your existing pension into a SIPP. Any pension arrangement that can be transferred into a SIPP won't compromise your tax relief on the SIPP contributions, other than anything that's gone into the other pension this year counts towards the £40k. However pension transfers aren't the most straightforward of things, so seek advice from a pensions technical expert at your SIPP provider.