Starting a SIPP & carry forward rules?

LeadFarmer

Thanks, I think I misunderstood the carry forward rules, I thought they allowed retrospective payments for the previous year (max 3 years) if the maximum for full tax relief hadn't been paid.

So once 6th April arrives the door is closed for the previous year even if you have only paid £1 into the previous years SIPP? The fact you might pay the maximum in next year doesnt mean you can retrospectively pay in more for the previous year if you hadn't paid in the max for that year?

LeadFarmer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81946516#Comment_81946516

We dont know the details of his employers pension yet, it might not be a very good one or might come with high fees, or might not start for a while, hence why I was thinking of starting a Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index SIPP for him with me putting the money in.

With the SIPP I was simply trying to get my head around how much could be paid in and whether any previous years underpayments for full tax relief could be topped up retrospectively in following years.

I think I now understand that…

A SIPP is like:

“You only get the bonus in the year you put the money in.”

Not:

“You can add later and pretend you did it earlier.”

hara____

Yes, as others have said, forget about carry forward. That's only relevant to people with high earnings or employer contributions (or complicated pension input amounts for defined benefit pensions), giving them a chance to exceed the annual allowance this year if they can carry forward some unused allowance from past years.

At the income you've mentioned it's simply a case of use it or lose it by tax year, so as you say, the door will be closed on 6th April.

Marcon

We dont know the details of his employers pension yet, it might not be a very good one or might come with high fees, or might not start for a while, hence why I was thinking of starting a Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index SIPP for him with me putting the money in.

If he doesn't join the employer's scheme, he'll miss out on the employer's contribution. If it's an auto-enrolment scheme there's a limit on fees. Given his age and earnings he could have asked to join from day one of his employment so maybe that's the conversation he needs to have with his employer? They don't have to auto-enrol him until he is 22 but must enrol him, and pay employer contributions, before then if he asks to join.

Marcon

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81946589#Comment_81946589

Common misconception that you need to be earning more than £60K. See

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/6659623/annual-allowance-and-salary

and read the post from @hugheskevi on 14 March 2026 at 9.27 am.

hara____

Thanks Marcon, yes, poorly worded on my part, will edit.

LeadFarmer

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81946593#Comment_81946593

He'll definitely be joining it, fr his employers matching contributions, but he'll be paying in around 7.5% of his salary.

I was wanting to give him some help by chucking a lump sum into a pension for him, whether that be his employers pension or starting a SIPP.

I suppose if his employers pension isn't so great he could ask if they will transfer it to an alternative?

Smudgeismydog

It’s unlikely an employer will pay into a different arrangement than the workplace one, as it’s more administration for them.

The main thing for your son to be concerned with is to request to join, so he can benefit from the employer contributions. My son was not auto-enrolled due to his age, but requested to join, and is now benefitting from the employer contributions he would not receive otherwise. His workplace scheme is with NEST, and even though they offer a fairly basic arrangement, there is still some investment choice. The most important thing though is starting early, even with modest contributions.

Albermarle

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81946728#Comment_81946728

I suppose if his employers pension isn't so great he could ask if they will transfer it to an alternative?

Comparing the pros and cons of different pensions is more for when there is actually some significant funds in it, and he understands about charges and investment choices. For now it is likely that the employer pension is perfectly adequate for his needs.

LHW99

https://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/discussion/comment/81947239#Comment_81947239

He may well move onto another employer in a few years, and can then decide whether to transfer the NEST pension into the new employer's scheme, or to a SIPP of his own or leave as is.