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Self-Invested Personal Pension
Government bonusInvest for retirement with HMRC footing part of the bill.
Annual limit
Up to 100% of earnings
Annual allowance £60,000 (tapered for high earners)
Government incentive
Tax relief at your marginal rate (20%, 40%, or 45%)
Tax on growth
None inside the wrapper
Tax on income
None inside the wrapper
Tax on withdrawal
25% tax-free lump sum; remainder taxed as income
Eligibility
UK residents under age 75
Best for
- ✓Self-employed people without a workplace pension
- ✓Higher and additional rate taxpayers (bigger relief)
- ✓Supplementing a workplace pension
Key benefits
- ✓Tax relief on contributions at your marginal rate
- ✓Higher-rate taxpayers effectively get 40p back per £1 contributed
- ✓Tax-free growth for potentially decades
- ✓25% Pension Commencement Lump Sum taken completely tax-free
- ✓Wide investment choice (shares, funds, ETFs, investment trusts)
Restrictions & watch-outs
- ⚠️Cannot access until minimum pension age (currently 57 from 2028)
- ⚠️75% of withdrawals taxed as income
- ⚠️Annual allowance of £60,000 (tapered to £10,000 for very high earners)
- ⚠️Complex rules around carry-forward and lifetime allowances
See the numbers
Use our calculator to model exactly how this account could work for you.