Low risk pension for £60K and SIPP £2,880 x 3 years

[Pensions2026]

Hi, I'm 58 and have just completed the Rebel Finance course I read about on Mumsnet. I was all set to invest £60K into a pension and also set up a SIPP £2,880 for each of the last 3 years. I was considering the Vanguard FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund. I planned to do this before the end of the tax year however have lost my nerve a bit because of the current market. I am therefore looking for a lower risk pension and SIPP option eg cash fund, Vanguard Strategy Fund. If I set this, or similar, up now is it then possible to transfer to another pension after 6 months/a year or will there be large fees? Thank you for your assistance.

You can change to another fund at any time without needing to change the pension.

Depending what platform you're on there may well be a fee to sell one fund and buy the other

As you're talking about setting up both pension and a SIPP, and changing pension when you mean investment, I think you need to do a bit more reading. You need to understand these terms. Try https://www.thefireplace.info/wiki/Main_Page for clear explanations of the basics.

And what do you mean by £2800 for the last 3 years?

Are you stopping paying in and retiring in 3 years time, or do you mean 2023/4/5? Why that number - do you have no qualifying income? If that's the case, you can't invest £60k.

Do you need a SIPP? You can often change the funds/ risk profile inside your pension.

For example I have a Scottish widows workplace pension and I can change the funds

I had a SIPP but transferred it to my workplace pension because the fees eat up any gains for small amounts

Let's begin at the beginning.

A SIPP is a type of pension.

The amount you can pay into your pension savings each year is whichever is the lower of your annual qualifying income or £60k. If you have no qualifying income you can put in £3600.

The money you pay in gets a 20% tax rebate. The tax is included in the allowance above, so the amount of actual cash you can put in is lower.

If you have a work pension, your employer's contributions also count towards the allowance.

If you have multiple pensions, the allowance can be spread between them but you must still stay within the allowed amounts in total.

If you have unused allowance from.the previous 3 years you may be able to carry it forward to use now, but there are restrictions so you'll need to check that you qualify.

If you have a public sector pension, annual allowance is calculated in a different way. You'll need specific advice if this applies to you.

Thank you very much for your replies - much appreciated. I am self-employed and would like to set up a SIPP. I am also a company director and would like to set up a pension and contribute £24K for this tax year and then £1000 a month going forward.

Why do you want a SIPP and a non-SIPP pension?