What kind of pension for a one person limited company?

chamberino

I'm an IT contractor working as a one person limited company - so responsible for handling all my own pension stuff. I want to start paying into a pension and get the tax benefit. However there is a range of suppliers and types of pension and I have no idea which one I should be using. There are lots of articles that talk about the benefits of a ltd company pension, but none that make actual recommendations.

What kind of account do I need and how do I pay into it?
Who should I go with? (An ethical provider would be a big bonus)

SonOf

There are lots of articles that talk about the benefits of a ltd company pension, but none that make actual recommendations.

There is no such thing as a limited company pension. Virtually all retail pensions will accept employer contributions.

What kind of account do I need and how do I pay into it?

Stakeholder pension or personal pension or SIPP.
Most directors pay in using direct debit or an annual payment once they know how much money they have at the year end.

Who should I go with? (An ethical provider would be a big bonus)

Returns will be lower if you go with ethical investments. So, how strong are your ethics?

You haven't given enough filtering criteria to narrow the options down.

LHW99

Who should I go with? (An ethical provider would be a big bonus)

I don't know about PP's or stakeholders, but in a SIPP you choose what to invest in - so you can look at the range of "ethical" funds / investments and decide which actually fit your criteria - they are not all the same. The platform itself is effectively neutral.

Prism

For my limited company pension I use Youinvest. I make monthly payments by direct debit directly from the business bank account and sometimes make an additional ad hoc yearly payment.

lisyloo

We use a Novia SIPP via an IFA who get institutionally priced funds.
We pay 0.5% pa for the service, but we get advice and help whenever we want it and monitoring of the portfolio i.e. recommended fund switches.


Not everyone on here likes this approach and thats fine (if they know what they are doing) but it means we can forget about the investment side of things which is good if you aren't inclined towards it (I find that people tend to neglect chores they dont like doing).


I am not saynig everyone should do this or even promoting it but just putting forward the idea as one option that is most suitable for some people (either people who might neglect it or do a bad job because they have no idea what they are doing).


I think a good professional can do 0.5% better than me so I don't mind about the cost as it one thing I don't want to do that I don't have to worry about and can relax knowing it's taken care of.

xylophone

For information only.

https://www.pensionbee.com/pensions-explained/pension-contributions/contributing-to-your-pension-from-your-limited-company

You could consult an IFA.

https://adviserbook.co.uk/ Tick "confirmed independent" and "pension and retirement".

Or you could consider DIY

DIY Pensions: A Simple Guide to Pensions, SIPPs & Retirement Planning by John Edwards

https://moneytothemasses.com/saving-for-your-future/pensions/the-best-cheapest-sipps-low-cost-diy-pensions

https://monevator.com/using-vanguard-lifestrategy-funds-life/

atush

lisyloo wrote: »

We use a Novia SIPP via an IFA who get institutionally priced funds.
We pay 0.5% pa for the service, but we get advice and help whenever we want it and monitoring of the portfolio i.e. recommended fund switches.


Not everyone on here likes this approach and thats fine (if they know what they are doing) but it means we can forget about the investment side of things which is good if you aren't inclined towards it (I find that people tend to neglect chores they dont like doing).


I am not saynig everyone should do this or even promoting it but just putting forward the idea as one option that is most suitable for some people (either people who might neglect it or do a bad job because they have no idea what they are doing).


I think a good professional can do 0.5% better than me so I don't mind about the cost as it one thing I don't want to do that I don't have to worry about and can relax knowing it's taken care of.

using a professional is a fine idea, but you might want to wait until your fund is larger than 20K or so. In the meantime you can pick a global tracker or multi asset fund such as one of the Vanguard series.

squirrelpie

Your acountant may also be able to suggest possibilities or advisers.