Snag with paying fees for Fidelity SIPP whilst account is on overseas hold

[freddy17]

Hi all, I have a very specific situation I'm hoping people on here might be able to give me some better alternatives to, than what I've discussed with Fidelity.

I have a SIPP and three JISAs with Fidelity. I am now relocating abroad and having spoken to Fidelity about what my options with the SIPP are they've said I can do one of the following:

1. Put the account on an overseas hold while I'm abroad. No further contributions can be made to the SIPP but existing investments will remain and continue to grow. Fidelity fees on the SIPP will continue to be charged as normal.
2. Sell all holdings in the SIPP and keep as cash in the cash account. There will be no fees in this scenario but also only very nominal growth based on something like 3% interest on the cash. My SIPP and the JISA funds are providing an annualised return of 10%.

It makes sense to me to take option 1 but the snag with the fees is that once the account is on overseas hold, I will no longer be able to add funds to it, not even to cover payment of fees, which feels like an oversight in their process to me. I can top-up the cash account before the hold with enough money to cover a few years of fees based on an estimate of the monthly fees, but given I don't know how long I'll be away, if it gets to the point that there is no further cash available in the account to cover fees, they will do the usual of selling investments which I obviously want to avoid.

Has anyone on here encountered this situation or know what other options I might have? The only other one Fidelity themselves mentioned is that I could look at other platforms who may handle the process differently and allow me to continue being able to cover the fees - so any insight on how other platforms might manage this situation would be appreciated!

Thanks!

[pjt]

Hi all, I have a very specific situation I'm hoping people on here might be able to give me some better alternatives to, than what I've discussed with Fidelity.

I have a SIPP and three JISAs with Fidelity. I am now relocating abroad and having spoken to Fidelity about what my options with the SIPP are they've said I can do one of the following:

1. Put the account on an overseas hold while I'm abroad. No further contributions can be made to the SIPP but existing investments will remain and continue to grow. Fidelity fees on the SIPP will continue to be charged as normal.
2. Sell all holdings in the SIPP and keep as cash in the cash account. There will be no fees in this scenario but also only very nominal growth based on something like 3% interest on the cash. My SIPP and the JISA funds are providing an annualised return of 10%.

It makes sense to me to take option 1 but the snag with the fees is that once the account is on overseas hold, I will no longer be able to add funds to it, not even to cover payment of fees, which feels like an oversight in their process to me. I can top-up the cash account before the hold with enough money to cover a few years of fees based on an estimate of the monthly fees, but given I don't know how long I'll be away, if it gets to the point that there is no further cash available in the account to cover fees, they will do the usual of selling investments which I obviously want to avoid.

Has anyone on here encountered this situation or know what other options I might have? The only other one Fidelity themselves mentioned is that I could look at other platforms who may handle the process differently and allow me to continue being able to cover the fees - so any insight on how other platforms might manage this situation would be appreciated!

Thanks!

I'd be tempted to just not tell them your moving. Is that an option?

[freddy17]

I'd be tempted to just not tell them your moving. Is that an option?

I suppose it is, yes. What are the risks with this though, if any?

[pjt]

I suppose it is, yes. What are the risks with this though, if any?

I don't think you would be breaking the law so as long as you dont put more cash in for investment purposes you should be fine. Just get your address updated to someone you trust as correspondance and forget about it.

Not an expert on this so may be duff advice but thats what I'd do.

[sadkingbilly]

I lived in EU for 12 years and maintained Fidelity SIPP and ISA's with no issues.
they had my EU address etc. as had the bank(s).
Mind you, i never cared about adding cash for fees, just let the investments roll on.
Are you keeping UK bank account(s)?

[freddy17]

I lived in EU for 12 years and maintained Fidelity SIPP and ISA's with no issues.
they had my EU address etc. as had the bank(s).
Mind you, i never cared about adding cash for fees, just let the investments roll on.
Are you keeping UK bank account(s)?

I'm moving to the Middle East - they told me if you're moving to Europe the overseas hold stuff doesn't apply anyway.

Re cash for fees, do you mean you were ok with them just selling some units to cover the fees?

Yes, I'll be keeping my UK bank account.

[sadkingbilly]

Re cash for fees, do you mean you were ok with them just selling some units to cover the fees?

yes, no worries. I just reinvest everything anyway, so it takes care of itself.
Mind you, i never get too stressed over money, anyway.