Government admits Residential Property SIPPs only for the rich

This was always fairly obvious because of the SIPP's borrowing limit: 50% of the fund's value.The SIPP would have to be worth 100k to buy an average property.

Few people have that much in a personal pension (though many probably have the equivalent - or much more - in a company pension fund but aren't aware of it.) And although you can put the equivalent of your whole salary (capped at 215k) into the SIPP every year under the new rules, how many people earn 100k a year?

Interestingly, the resttictions concerning transaction not conducted at "arms length" i.e. unconnected parties is being removed.

This effectivedly means someone could in theory co-own a property with their pension allowing smaller funds to be used for part-purchase. The pension would then represent an appropriate shhare of the property which could be helpful.

Eg. Property £100,000. Pension £30,000. Borrow 50% = £15,000. £70,000 raised on mortgage. Mortgage costs shared £55,000 to individual, £15,000 to pension. But Other costs and income (including gain on property) shared 45% to pension 55% to individual.

The only fly in the ointment is the reluctance of SIPP trustees to accept such arrangment. What would happen if individual goes bankrupt? Nevertheless it would be interesting to see would developments and products come to the fore as the theory is correct.