SSAS pension- transfer options

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FintanJ

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I have an SSAS pension. I am an employee in a company that I do not own. Given the pension regulations changes, I need to move from this type of scheme soon or suffer very high cost. What are the options and what are the pros and cons of each option? While I understand the deadline is April 2026 , life companies are looking to make changes well in advance.

Transfer to standard prsa - limited investment options so not suitable for me.

Transfer to non-standard prsa.

Transfer to a new single scheme under a Master Trust. I have seen some reference to this online.

There is reference to transfer to buy out bond but this would not suit me as not leaving employment.

My questions.

What are the pros and cons of non-standard PRSA v new single scheme within master trust?

The transfer value of my fund at present is less than fund value . This is due to age of scheme, less than 5 years. If I transfer to new product with same life company , will they transfer at full fund value?

Thanks
 
You can transfer to a buy out bond without having to leave employment and start up a PRSA from scratch. But the PRSA is probably going to be very expensive if you are starting from €0. You'd probably be better to start off with an insured product if you used that option.
 
FintanJ said:
The transfer value of my fund at present is less than fund value . This is due to age of scheme, less than 5 years. If I transfer to new product with same life company , will they transfer at full fund value?
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Are you sure you have a Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS)? This sounds like a scheme arranged by a life company.
 
FintanJ said:
Yes one of big life companies.
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Okay, you don't have a SSAS. Your scheme is administered by a life company and is therefore not self-administered - the SA in SSAS.

If the life company has a Master Trust offering, they will allow you to transfer to their Master Trust without incurring the early exit charges you mentioned above. The early exit charges would carry over into the Master Trust.
 
FintanJ said:
Any advantage in transferring to PRSA instead?
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There are several differences between the two.

  • Master Trust has more options for calculating tax-free lump sum at retirement than a PRSA.
  • Charges can be different between the two. I've no way of knowing what charges you're being offered on either choice by your broker.
  • Investment choices can also be different between a PRSA and a Master Trust product. Varies from one pension company to another.
  • Contributions by a company to a Master Trust are subject to generous limits. Contributions by a company to a PRSA are unlimited.
  • Difference in rules governing early retirement between a Master Trust and a PRSA.
You need to get your broker to explain all of the above differences to you in the context of your specific circumstances and requirements before making a decision.
 
Hi, Hopefully my response is not too late. I'm a director of a SSAS trustee company and my business administers over 750 SSASs.

I note the responses have assumed you don't have a SSAS and some of the information you have been given is incorrect. Just because you have received statements from large pensions companies/insurers regarding any pension investment accounts you have, those investments accounts may well be held within a SSAS wrapper. SSASs allow member trustees to invest in a huge number of 3rd party pension accounts with the likes of Aviva, Axa, etc.

I'm also confused by your statement regarding changes to pension regulations, so I'd be interested to know which regs you are referring to. The only significant change that would materially impact a SSAS but not other pension products was the proposed introduction of an increase Pension Levy of £10k for SSAS arrangements. However, DWP have now confirmed this proposal has now, quite rightly been scrapped.

SSASs can be a lot more flexible than other pension products, especially in relation to investment and flexible drawdown options. Therefore, the main factors for consideration should primarily be the cost of a SSAS in comparison to other simpler products and/or whether a SSAS is better suited to your requirements than other potentially more restrictive products (in terms of investment and drawdown options).

If you are still unclear what product you hold, perhaps you would be kind enough to confirm the product provider name (this is likely to be different to the companies managing the investment account/s held within the SSAS wrapper). If your broker (do you mean broker or adviser??) has stated you have a SSAS it's unlikely he would have referenced this type of product unless they had confirmed it was indeed a SSAS. SSASs are Small Self Administered Schemes usually set up by a sponsoring employer, usually for directors or family business owners, so if you are a member of a SSAS it would most probably be related to your existing or previous employer and in normal circumstances as a member, you would also be a Member Trustee. If you have received annual statements from the companies managing/providing the investment accounts, then these statements should refer to the SSAS scheme name or trustee company, as investments/accounts should normally be held in joint names (independent trustee - if one was appointed - and member trustees)

I am not authorised to provide financial advice, but I can certainly provide factual guidance on whether you may have a SSAS and some of your options in relation to the SSAS, plus provide an understanding of the process of transferring from the SSAS to an alternative product, or moving the SSAS to an alternative SSAS provider. It certainly seems you may have received some misleading guidance/advice up to this point.
 
Richard Prior said:
Hi, Hopefully my response is not too late. I'm a director of a SSAS trustee company and my business administers over 750 SSASs.

I note the responses have assumed you don't have a SSAS and some of the information you have been given is incorrect. Just because you have received statements from large pensions companies/insurers regarding any pension investment accounts you have, those investments accounts may well be held within a SSAS wrapper. SSASs allow member trustees to invest in a huge number of 3rd party pension accounts with the likes of Aviva, Axa, etc.

I'm also confused by your statement regarding changes to pension regulations, so I'd be interested to know which regs you are referring to. The only significant change that would materially impact a SSAS but not other pension products was the proposed introduction of an increase Pension Levy of £10k for SSAS arrangements. However, DWP have now confirmed this proposal has now, quite rightly been scrapped.

SSASs can be a lot more flexible than other pension products, especially in relation to investment and flexible drawdown options. Therefore, the main factors for consideration should primarily be the cost of a SSAS in comparison to other simpler products and/or whether a SSAS is better suited to your requirements than other potentially more restrictive products (in terms of investment and drawdown options).

If you are still unclear what product you hold, perhaps you would be kind enough to confirm the product provider name (this is likely to be different to the companies managing the investment account/s held within the SSAS wrapper). If your broker (do you mean broker or adviser??) has stated you have a SSAS it's unlikely he would have referenced this type of product unless they had confirmed it was indeed a SSAS. SSASs are Small Self Administered Schemes usually set up by a sponsoring employer, usually for directors or family business owners, so if you are a member of a SSAS it would most probably be related to your existing or previous employer and in normal circumstances as a member, you would also be a Member Trustee. If you have received annual statements from the companies managing/providing the investment accounts, then these statements should refer to the SSAS scheme name or trustee company, as investments/accounts should normally be held in joint names (independent trustee - if one was appointed - and member trustees)

I am not authorised to provide financial advice, but I can certainly provide factual guidance on whether you may have a SSAS and some of your options in relation to the SSAS, plus provide an understanding of the process of transferring from the SSAS to an alternative product, or moving the SSAS to an alternative SSAS provider. It certainly seems you may have received some misleading guidance/advice up to this point.
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Has IORP II managed to pass you by?
 
Yes, seems to have side tracked this very interesting and relevant (to me) thread.

I'm in the same boat as the OP, am a SSAS owner needing to move my SSAS to PRSA or MT, thinking of paying the penalty for keeping it in the existing SSAS until 2025 as sounds to me to be cheaper than PRSA additional fees compared to existing for the next year.
Hoping it'll also give me a chance to learn about other people's mistakes to try and not make same as I think that many are just jumping head first into the nearest PRSAs by default, not that there's much choice.
 
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