How much can you pay into a Junior SIPP in 2026/27?

Full answer

A Junior Self-Invested Personal Pension (Junior SIPP) is a personal pension opened by a parent or legal guardian on behalf of a child under 18, allowing the family to start building a pension pot for the child decades before they can access it. **The contribution limit** For 2026/27, total contributions to a Junior SIPP are capped at a gross £3,600 per tax year. Because pension contributions attract basic-rate tax relief added automatically at source (even for a child with no income and no tax liability), the actual cash paid in by the family is £2,880 -- HMRC tops this up with £720 (20%) to reach the £3,600 gross figure. This £3,600 limit applies regardless of whether the child has any earnings themselves, unlike adult pension contributions, which are normally limited to the higher of £3,600 or 100% of relevant UK earnings. **Who can contribute** Parents, grandparents, other family members or friends can all contribute to a Junior SIPP, but only the registered contact (usually a parent or legal guardian) can open and manage the account, choose investments, and make decisions on the child's behalf until they turn 18. **When the child gains control** At 18, legal control of the Junior SIPP passes to the (now adult) child, though -- like any pension -- they cannot withdraw the money until they reach the normal minimum pension age, which is 55 currently and is rising to 57 from April 2028. Some children may retain a lower protected pension age if applicable, but in general the fund is locked away for retirement for several decades. **Growth potential over time** Because a Junior SIPP can be invested from birth and is not touched for at least 55 years in many cases, even modest contributions benefit from a very long compounding period. Contributing the maximum £2,880 (£3,600 gross) every year from birth to age 18 -- a total family cost of £51,840 -- assuming a long-run average return, can realistically grow to a very substantial sum by the time the child reaches typical retirement age, purely through decades of compound growth, though actual outcomes depend entirely on investment performance and cannot be guaranteed. **Comparison with a Junior ISA** A Junior ISA (JISA) allows up to £9,000 a year (2026/27) and the child can access the money at 18, with no restrictions on how it is spent. A Junior SIPP allows a much smaller annual contribution (£3,600 gross) but the money benefits from upfront tax relief and is locked away until retirement, making the two products complementary rather than substitutes -- a JISA for medium-term goals such as a house deposit or education costs, and a Junior SIPP purely for very long-term retirement saving. **Worked example** Grandparents contribute £2,880 (net) into their grandchild's Junior SIPP each year from birth. HMRC adds £720 in basic-rate relief, making a gross contribution of £3,600 a year. Over 18 years this represents a family outlay of £51,840, but because the fund is invested for the child's whole lifetime before it can be accessed, even a modest annual return compounding over 50-60 years can turn this into a fund worth many times the amount paid in, illustrating why starting a pension in childhood, however small, can be so powerful.

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