Performance Shares Plan (PSP) into SIP ?

Skyhigh

I'm part of my employers Performance Shares Plan, which issues shares based on performance over the last two years (issued once per year).

Is it possible to have any awarded shares put into my SIP instead?


Last year, we had to pay the tax on the shares upfront in order to receive them.
This actually involved selling enough of the share allocation to cover the tax cost. There was an option to pay tax later if/when we sell our shares, but it would be tax on the full amount (shares plus any value increase).

Ideally if they could go into a SIP I'd then surely I could pay the tax in later life, as to me it's no different from buying the same shares with pre-tax income in a SIP as usual.

jimmo

As you haven't had a reply yet...... My knowledge is now more than a little bit rusty and I've never heard of PSPs. However, I see from Googling that Tescos operate one.
With any share scheme the key question is whether it is approved (by HMRC) or unapproved. Your employer will be able to tell you if its an approved scheme.
As if to add to any confusion I rather think that HMRC identify your PSP as a "Share Incentive Plan " (SIP), whereas you are seeking to move your shares into a "Self Invested Personal Pension" (SIPP).....
https://www.gov.uk/tax-employee-share-schemes/share-incentive-plans-sips
https://www.moneyadviceservice.org.uk/en/articles/self-invested-personal-pensions
Just be careful.
The tax principles are relatively straightforward. When you extract money or value from a SIP You need to consider whether you can do so tax-free.
When you invest in a SIPP you need to consider whether you can claim tax relief on your investment.
The rest is just red tape.
However, in my opinion, the real crunch is whether your SIPP administrator will accept an investment in the form of shares as opposed to money. If they do accept shares how much will they charge?

Skyhigh

Thank you for the reply, it's very much appreciated.

Very good points that I'll look into. It's tricky as I've not managed to find anyone asking the same question online, although it may be down to terminology!

Currently I'm with the default SIPP provider which is Standard Life. I'm looking to switch to likely Interactive Investor or Hargreaves Lansdown, or possibly another if there is better (both look competitive for management costs and cost of trades, etc)