If your pension pot is relatively small, you can easily overlook how much your provider charges to look after your SIPP. But if your pot begins to grow, and you’re making regular contributions from your limited company, the real cost can rise sharply.
A platform charging 0.35% costs £175 a year on a £50,000 SIPP, £875 on £250,000 and £1,750 on £500,000.
In this guide, we explain why you should compare SIPP charges in pounds, including platform fees, fund charges, and transaction costs. Don’t rely on a headline percentage or monthly fee in isolation.
| SIPP value | 0.35% platform fee |
|---|---|
| £50,000 | £175 a year |
| £250,000 | £875 a year |
| £500,000 | £1,750 a year |
The percentage only tells part of the story. Add platform fees, fund charges, dealing costs, and other fees to find out what your SIPP really costs each year.
What makes up the real cost of a SIPP?
The main charges to look for are:
- Platform or administration fee – the charge made by the SIPP provider.
- Fund or ETF charges – ongoing charges within the investments you hold.
- Dealing fees – charges for buying and selling certain investments.
- Foreign exchange fees – relevant if you buy investments in another currency.
- Drawdown or withdrawal fees – some providers charge extra once you start taking pension income.
- Other administration charges – these vary by provider and can apply to specific transactions.
Monthly platform fees always get the most attention because they’re easy to compare, but they’re not always the highest cost, especially if you factor in transaction costs.
Flat fees vs percentage fees
Some SIPP providers take a percentage of whatever you have invested. Others charge a set monthly fee, sometimes with a higher rate once your pot reaches a certain size.
With percentage pricing, the bill rises as the pension grows. With a flat-fee SIPP, it generally doesn’t — unless you cross into a more expensive pricing band.
What difference does the charging model make?
Here is the annual platform cost on a £250,000 SIPP using several example charging models:
| Charging model | Annual platform cost |
|---|---|
| 0.15% | £375 |
| 0.25% | £625 |
| 0.35% | £875 |
| 0.45% | £1,125 |
| £180 flat annual fee | £180 |
Some providers charge less once the pot reaches a certain size, while others cap fees on particular investments or switch you to a different pricing tier.
Company pension · Partner
Compare the ii SIPP
interactive investor uses flat monthly pricing rather than taking the same percentage of your pension pot every year.
- Core plan costs £5.99 a month for portfolios up to £100,000
- Plus costs £14.99 a month once the portfolio exceeds £100,000
- Limited companies can make employer contributions directly into the SIPP
How flat-fee SIPP pricing works
interactive investor is one example of a provider which does not simply apply a percentage fee to the whole pension value.
Its Core plan currently costs £5.99 a month for portfolios worth up to £100,000. Above £100,000, the account moves to Plus at £14.99 a month.
| ii plan | Monthly fee | Annual fee |
|---|---|---|
| Core | £5.99 | £71.88 |
| Plus | £14.99 | £179.88 |
Trading, foreign exchange and investment charges are separate, so the monthly fee doesn’t represent the total cost of holding the SIPP.
Where is the break-even point?
If you are comparing a fixed annual platform fee with a percentage charge, it is easy to calculate the break-even point.
Take a £180 annual fee and compare it with 0.35%:
£180 ÷ 0.0035 = £51,429
At roughly £51,400, the two platform charges are the same.
| Flat annual fee | Equals 0.25% at | Equals 0.35% at | Equals 0.45% at |
|---|---|---|---|
| £72 | £28,800 | £20,571 | £16,000 |
| £120 | £48,000 | £34,286 | £26,667 |
| £180 | £72,000 | £51,429 | £40,000 |
| £240 | £96,000 | £68,571 | £53,333 |
These are platform-fee comparisons only, and ignore fund charges, dealing costs, pricing tiers and fee caps.
Fund charges are added on top
If you hold funds or ETFs inside the SIPP, those investments may have their own ongoing charges.
A fund charging 0.20% costs:
| Amount invested | 0.20% annual charge |
|---|---|
| £50,000 | £100 |
| £100,000 | £200 |
| £250,000 | £500 |
| £500,000 | £1,000 |
So a £250,000 SIPP with a £180 platform fee and investments costing 0.20% would cost around £680 a year before dealing charges.
A £250,000 SIPP example
Take two platforms holding the same £250,000 pension.
| Platform A | Platform B | |
|---|---|---|
| Charging method | 0.35% | £180 a year |
| Annual platform cost | £875 | £180 |
| Difference | £695 a year | |
Over ten years, that is £6,950 in platform charges alone if the pension value and fees remained unchanged.
A flat-fee SIPP will not always be the cheapest option, particularly for a smaller pension. But once the pot reaches six figures, even a fairly modest percentage charge can become a substantial annual cost. That is why it makes sense to compare the actual amount you would pay each year, rather than looking at the percentage or monthly fee in isolation.
Dealing charges can change the answer
Someone who buys two investments a year has a very different cost profile from someone trading every month.
Check what the provider charges for:
- fund purchases and sales;
- UK shares;
- ETFs and investment trusts;
- US and other overseas shares;
- regular investing; and
- currency conversion.
This can matter for limited company directors making regular employer pension contributions, particularly if each contribution is then invested separately.
Watch for fee caps and tapered charges
Percentage charges are not always applied to the entire pension at one flat rate.
Some platforms reduce the percentage once the pension passes a certain value. Others cap the annual charge on shares, ETFs or investment trusts.
Don’t compare providers using the headline percentage alone.
Check:
- what assets the percentage applies to;
- whether the fee falls at higher pension values;
- whether an annual cap applies; and
- whether funds and shares are charged differently.
Why this matters to limited company directors
A limited company can pay employer pension contributions directly into a director’s SIPP, and those contributions are not tied to salary in the same way as personal contributions. For directors who regularly move company profits into a pension, the pot can grow quickly over time.
That is where the charging structure starts to matter more. A SIPP worth £50,000 with a 0.35% platform fee costs £175 a year. At £150,000, the same fee is £525. At £300,000, it is £1,050.
If the company is still making sizeable contributions each year, the fee can keep rising with the fund. Directors with larger pension pots should therefore look at what the platform costs in pounds, not just whether the headline charge looks low.
See our main guide to SIPPs for limited company directors for more on company contributions, Corporation Tax relief and pension allowances.
Should you transfer a SIPP to save on fees?
A cheaper SIPP may be worth moving to, but check what you would be giving up before transferring an existing pension.
Some older pensions come with guaranteed annuity rates, protected pension ages or other valuable benefits which can be lost on transfer.
Also look at the new provider’s investment range, along with the cost of holding and trading the investments you use.
You should always take regulated financial advice before switching or combining pensions, particularly if your existing pension has safeguarded benefits or you are not completely sure what you may be giving up.
How to compare two SIPPs properly
Work out the annual cost in pounds based on how you expect to use the platform.
| Cost to compare | What to look for |
|---|---|
| Platform fee | Flat fee, percentage fee, pricing bands, caps and tapering |
| Investment charges | Fund OCFs, ETF charges and other underlying investment costs |
| Trading | Fund, share, ETF and regular investment dealing fees |
| Foreign investments | Foreign exchange charges and overseas dealing fees |
| Taking benefits | Drawdown, withdrawal and other pension administration charges |
Add those together for each provider.
A headline charge of 0.25%, 0.35% or £14.99 a month tells you very little on its own.
Investment values can fall as well as rise. Pension and tax rules can change. Provider charges also change, so check current pricing before opening or transferring a SIPP.