Salary Sacrifice into a SIPP - help!

[HelpWithSIPPApplicationPlease]

I'm a contractor on a daily rate, inside IR35. I've just started a contract with a new umbrella company. I want to make salary sacrifice payments which the umbrella have said need to go into a SIPP. I started setting one up but I'm struggling with the application process, in particular two questions:

• what percentage of the SIPP I intend to invest in funds
• the expected number of trades per year

I know nobody on here can answer these questions for me, but I'm just looking for a clue. I currently have a cautious attitude to risk - what's a reasonable % to invest in funds? How many trades are advisable? I don't even really know what it all means!

My financial advisor suggested putting the contributions into an existing SIPP that I set up with a different umbrella but it seems like they will only accept one off lump sums or regular amounts of the same value. It's so frustrating, but I guess there must be a good (legal) reason for that.

I have thought about asking the umbrella to get me on their workplace pension instead of the SIPP, but I don't fully understand the implications of doing that.

I am so confused and stressed and just want somewhere to put the salary sacrifice payments! I've been contracting for the last six years and never experienced anything like this before.

I'd be very grateful for any advice, thank you.

Assuming you're not imminently due to retire you'd likely be wanting close to 100% in funds. You can choose higher or lower risk funds. Any cash not going into a fund would be traded in either individual shares (not recommended for a novice) or held as cash. Cash will devalue with inflation.
You may want to put some cash aside for platform fees otherwise they will need to sell holdings to cover these.

I have chosen global equity tracker funds.

Number of trades is just equal to the number of times you add to your pension each year - assuming monthly it's 12. ie it's how often they will use your cash to invest in a fund.

I'm by no means an expert but this is my understanding! You may want to consult an expert for financial advice on funds etc.

Thank you so much for replying @TheOneWithUnagi This is very helpful and makes a lot of sense. I feel a bit more confident now, thanks again.

I would say have a look at some low cost provider websites like a Vanguard and A J Bell. They offer options with differing degrees of risk, either managed or self managed and display the costs on clear and easy to understand illustrations. You can call them to discuss too. They’re good starting points to educate yourself.

Hi @martinisforeveryone - Thank you for replying. Sorry it took so long to acknowledge but I didn't get the usual MN notification for some reason.

Long story short, I ended up setting up a SIPP with the provider recommended by the umbrella. They're also Which? recommended so I know they're OK, but the fund is self-managed and I'm not entirely comfortable with that. No money has actually gone in yet, so I'll take your advice and have a look at the companies you mentioned (better late than never I suppose). Thanks again.

No worries @HelpWithSIPPApplicationPlease I'm not recommending to go with either but it's good to gather information and get a handle on all the terminology etc. and they seemed fairly clear to me.

Also spend some time on the Government pensions advisory site
Money and Pensions Service which has a link to Moneyhelper Free and impartial help with money, backed by the government | MoneyHelper