We will ask you to complete a simple ONLINE APPLICATION to include each individual that you wish to be a member trustee of the SSAS as well as a information about your business and information for the proposed SSAS

YOU CAN COMPLETE THE APPLICATION HERE

We will ask you to complete a simple ONLINE APPLICATION to include each individual that you wish to be a member trustee of the SSAS as well as a information about your business and information for the proposed SSAS

YOU CAN COMPLETE THE APPLICATION HERE

We have noted some key points below to help you complete the SSAS Application: 

SSAS INFORMATION

1. Scheme name – As the SSAS will be an identifibale legal entity, it needs to be given its own name. This name can be anything that you wish, although it is usually related to your business name or your family name, such as “The ABC Ltd SSAS Pension” or “The Jones Family Trust” for example  

2. How will the SSAS be invested – this is also just for general information and is not a commitmnet from you to undertake any specific actions or choices

3. How will the SSAS be funded – this is not a commitment from you or your business, it is simply an indictaion to the SSAS adminstrators of how the SSAS will be funded  

COMPANY INFORMATION

1. VAT number – if your business is VAT registered please insert the VAT registration number here. If your business is not VAT registered, please insert “Not vat registered”

2. PAYE reference – if your business operates PAYE please insert the PAYE reference number here. If your business does not use PAYE, please insert “No PAYE scheme”  

3. Corporation Tax reference number – every Limited Company has a 10 digit numerical Corporation Tax Reference or Corporation UTR number. HMRC issue this number to you as soon as a Company is established 

4. Participating employer – this section should only be completed if you are including more than one Company in your SSAS application  

5. Directors – Please include the personal details of all Directors regardless if they will be a Member Trustee of this SSAS or not   

PERSONAL INFORMATION

1. Each person that you wish to be a Member Trustee of the SSAS should complete their details on a separate form   

2. Unique Tax Reference number (UTR) – this is an essential part of your application. This is a 10 digit numerical reference number that HMRC issue to you. You will already have such a number if you have ever registered for self assessment with HMRC. The number will be included on all correspondence that you have from HMRC. If you cannot find the number, your Accountant should be able to assist. If you don’t have one, you will need to apply for one using the gov.uk or HMRC websites and register for self assessment or for a Unique Tax Reference number  

3. Existing Pensions – If you intend to transfer existing pensions into the SSAS, you can note those details here. (Please see compliance information on that process elsewhere in this website). If you wish to use the services of the SSAS Adminstators / Professional Trustee to help you to do that, once the SSAS is set up, please be sure to make contact with the SSAS Adminstators / Professional Trustee to help ypu expedite your wishes, inserting the details on the form just now does not create that instrcution and you will need to follow up on this when the SSAS is set up and approved  

4. Expression of Wish – please be sure to note who you wish to receive your SSAS pension benefits in the event of your death. This is not an absolute instruction, rather it provides guidance to the SSAS Trustees in the event of your death if you die intestate (without a clear and legally binding Will) This document will be available for you to access via the SSAS Administrator once you SSAS has been established and approved by HMRC 

CARD PAYMENT – You now have flexibility to charge the SSAS set up fee to the debit or credit card of your choice. If you wish to pay this fee by debit or credit card, just let us know at the time of applying and we will generate a card payment invoice link for you to pay the fee directly and easily and securely online using iZettle, a PayPal service

BANK TRANSFER – If you prefer we can issue a digital invoice to you and you can make a bank transfer payment direct from any bank account of your choice. We use Xero for digital invoices.

This information below is a general guide and is not an absolute timescale as the process of the SSAS approval is entirely within the control of HMRC

Week 1  

We complete the initial SSAS basic information forms – We need one member form for each of member and one company form for your trading Limited Company   

• You can photo / scan and email these forms to get the process started 
• Once these are returned, this will allow the SSAS Professional Trustees to prepare the formal SSAS paperwork for your signature
• Initial SSAS set up fees become payable now 

Week 2   

When the formal SSAS documents are ready, we will meet you briefly to discuss the documents and arrange for your signatures or we can facilitate this via a video call if easier / required

Week 3 – once documents are signed 

• Signed formal SSAS paperwork is received by SSAS Trustees
• HMRC SSAS approval process starts – SSAS Professional Trustees will send the formal, signed, SSAS paperwork to HMRC for their approval
• This takes HMRC an average of 8 -12 weeks currently to approve each SSAS (correct at time of writing)  

Within 8 -12 weeks approximately – this varies depending on HMRC processing times

• SSAS approved by HMRC (entirely in the control of HMRC)
• SSAS Bank account set up (by SSAS Processional Trustees)
• SSAS registration with ICO for data protection compliance set up (by SSAS reviews, to be paid by you – £40)
• Pension transfer process can be initiated between the SSAS pension trustees and your existing pensions trustees if relevant 

All other SSAS facilities can then be used

Please be aware that the HMRC SSAS approval process can take a considerable amount of time, which is entirely and only within the control of HMRC.

We are unable in any way to understand how long that will take, determine what stage an application is at, or indeed have any means of speeding the application along or checking where it is in the process. HMRC do not provide that form of service

When your application has been submitted to HMRC we are unable to provide any interim updates, simply as none are available. We will contact you as soon as there are significant questions from HMRC or as soon as the SSAS is approved 

A SSAS is a Trust structure with an HMRC Pension approval wrapped around it. It is a stand alone entity with it’s own individual trust arrangement. As a result there are a few parties involved within the process that we provide. Not every SSAS provider will offer the same amount of support and professional structure:

1. Member Trustee – this is you acting as the beneficial owner of the money held within your SSAS. The SSAS belongs to you and is entirely within your control. All investment decisions are made by you alone. A SSAS can have up to 11 member trustees

2. Sponsoring employer – this your Limited Company or LLP associated to your SSAS. That means that this / these entities are able to contribute value into the SSAS and are also allowed to borrow money from the SSAS. You can add more than one company to the SSAS, and subsequent companies are known as Participating Employers 

3. Professional Trustee – An agency function, where the Professional Trustee acts alongside you as the member Trustee and ensure that all rules and regulations are followed and that your SSAS functions in a fully compliant manner within all rues and within it’s regulatory and reporting environment. The Professional Trustee has no ownership of any assets or value within the SSAS, is not an investment adviser and cannot direct how money is held or invested. You can change your Professional Trustee at any time if you wish

4. SSAS Administrator – The administrator acts alongside the Professional Trustee and will carry out all day to day functions in processing activities to ensure the efficient operation of your SSAS

• SSAS will accept the transfers of existing pension benefits from all sources
• If a member has an existing Final Salary or Defined Benefit pension scheme (DB), this can be accepted into the SSAS subject to independent financial advice being sought from a FCA authorised, qualified and regulated adviser, which we can assist you to seek through our professional network if required
• Defined contribution schemes (DC) can be transferred, as the SSAS Trustees request the transfer value from your existing ceding scheme Trustees
• Pledged transfers of property / assets can also be accepted in to the SSAS
• By transferring various pensions in to the SSAS, a SSAS member can consolidate all of their pensions in to one structure
• Adding more value to the SSAS gives the member more flexibility to do more things with that value, i.e. Loan Back to their business, Buying Commercial property, Investment projects and so on
• There is no requirement that you transfer existing pensions to the SSAS
• If you elect, as a SSAS Trustee to transfer any existing pension structures to the SSAS, the Professional SSAS trustee can work with you on that process and handle the administration of that process for the SSAS
• You are able to seek independent financial advice if you so wish
• Neither myself nor the Professional SSAS trustees are FCA regulated, as we are not required to be so, as SSAS is not a retail / FCA regulated product, as it is an Occupational Pension Scheme
• The SSAS trustees reserve the right to charge 1.25% for the administration of your pension transfer instructions 

SSAS can accept the transfers of existing pension benefits from all sources. 

Defined contribution schemes (DC) Including SIPP’s can be transferred, as the SSAS Trustees request the transfer value from your existing ceding scheme Trustees. There is no requirement that you transfer existing pensions to the SSAS. If you elect, as a SSAS Trustee to transfer any existing pension structures to the SSAS, the Professional SSAS trustee can work with you on that process and handle the administration of that process for the SSAS. You are able to seek and should consider seeking independent financial advice at any time if you so wish. Neither myself nor the Professional SSAS trustees are FCA regulated, as we are not required to be so, as SSAS is not a retail / FCA regulated product, as it is an Occupational Pension Scheme. 

The process of advising on Defined Benefit / Final Salary (DB) pension transfer is complex and specialist. It requires specific adviser qualifications and regulatory authorisations and approvals as well as the adviser and their firm being specifically indemnity insured to carry out such work. An adviser will charge a fee for such advisory work or indeed any pension transfer work. As I am not that adviser I can’t tell you what that fee might be, however I will be happy have you chat that over with the adviser that I know can handle such a process for you. For absolute clarity and transparency, I have absolutely no commercial / financial interest in that advisory process as it is entirely independent from the SSAS set up process and SSAS creation is not predicated on having a pension value to transfer into it.

Your SSAS Consultant has no commercial or financial interest in the value of your SSAS and therefore has no direct or indirect interest, authority to undertake or motivation in seeking or encouraging transfers of any value into the SSAS from any external source. The SSAS does not provide an investment strategy or portfolio, rather that process is entirely at the discretion of the SSAS Member Trustees – you

Please refer to our compliance page to be clear on our regulatory and professional standing and relationship with you

• Each SSAS must be sponsored by an actively trading Limited Company or LLP
• That means that this Company is able to make contributions into the SSAS and the SSAS is able to invest in that company (subject to a criteria laid out in the Finance Act 2004)
• For the SSAS to be approved by HMRC and retain it’s approval, there must be no 30 day period or more where the company has not been trading within the last 12 months
• It is important that we are able to evidence that your company is actively trading