Answers · UK 2025/26

What is an in-specie transfer into a SIPP?

An in-specie transfer moves an existing investment (such as shares or commercial property) directly into your SIPP without first selling it for cash -- the asset itself is re-registered into the pension wrapper. This avoids the cost, market-timing risk, and time out of the market that comes with selling and rebuying, though the transfer still counts as a pension contribution and, for individual shareholdings, may still crystallise a Capital Gains Tax event.

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An in-specie transfer (sometimes called an "in-specie contribution" when it originates as a new pension contribution rather than a transfer between pensions) lets you move an asset you already own directly into a SIPP without converting it to cash first, and is a useful tool in several common situations. **How it differs from a cash transfer** With a normal cash transfer or contribution, you sell the asset, receive cash, and then either transfer that cash between pension providers or pay it in as a new contribution, which the SIPP provider then uses to buy investments (potentially the same ones you sold). An in-specie transfer skips the sell-and-rebuy step: the underlying asset (shares, a fund holding, or in some cases commercial property) is legally re-registered so that it becomes owned by the SIPP directly, without ever being converted to cash in the process. **Common uses** The most common in-specie transfer is moving shares or funds held in a general investment account into a SIPP -- often as part of a "bed and SIPP" style contribution -- and commercial property transfers, where a business owner moves their trading premises (or a share of it) into a SIPP, which then leases it back to the business, is a particularly well-established use of in-specie transfers among small business owners. **Tax treatment -- pension relief still applies** Even though no cash changes hands, an in-specie CONTRIBUTION (as opposed to a transfer between existing pensions) is valued at the market value of the asset on the date of transfer, and this value counts towards your annual allowance and is eligible for pension tax relief in the same way a cash contribution would be -- though because no cash actually enters the pension, relief is typically added as a book entry or your provider requires you to also pay a top-up in cash to fund the relief claim, so check your provider's specific process. **CGT can still apply** Transferring shares or a fund holding in specie is treated, for Capital Gains Tax purposes, as a disposal at market value, exactly as if you had sold it -- so if the asset has risen in value since you bought it, you may still trigger a CGT bill on the transfer even though you never received cash, which is an important and sometimes overlooked cost of the strategy. **Transfers between pensions** In-specie transfers are also used when moving an existing pension's holdings to a new SIPP provider -- rather than selling all the underlying investments, crystallising dealing costs and time out of the market, some providers can transfer the actual holdings across in specie, though not all receiving schemes accept every type of asset, and not all sending schemes offer it. **Practical tip** Confirm with both the transferring platform and the receiving SIPP provider whether in-specie transfer is supported for your specific asset, since dealing charges, delays, and CGT implications vary considerably by provider and asset type, and not every investment (particularly some overseas or unlisted holdings) can be moved this way.