Comparison · Self-Invested Pensions · 2026
SSAS vs SIPP UK 2026: Which Self-Invested Pension Suits Your Company?
Both a Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) and a Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) give you wide control over how your pension is invested, including commercial property and borrowing. But they suit very different people. This guide compares the two for 2026/27, focusing on the structures most relevant to company directors and family businesses.
TL;DR -- 30-Second Summary
- • SSAS: company-sponsored occupational trust, up to 11 members, can lend back to the business
- • SIPP: individual personal pension, FCA-regulated provider, simple to set up
- • Annual allowance 2026/27: GBP 60,000 across all your pensions combined
- • Property: both can buy commercial property and borrow up to 50% of net assets
- • Key difference: only a SSAS can make a loanback to the sponsoring employer
Side-by-Side Comparison
| Feature | SSAS | SIPP |
|---|---|---|
| Type | Occupational scheme (company trust) | Personal pension |
| Members | Up to 11, usually family/directors | One individual |
| Regulator | The Pensions Regulator | Financial Conduct Authority |
| Loanback to employer | Yes -- up to 50% of net assets | No |
| Commercial property | Yes -- can pool members' funds | Yes -- single member |
| Annual allowance 2026/27 | GBP 60,000 standard (tapered for high earners), across all pensions | |
| FSCS protection | Generally not in the same way | Available in some circumstances |
| Best suited to | Family business pooling assets | Individuals wanting investment control |
How a SSAS Works
A SSAS is set up by an employer, typically a small limited company, as a trust. The directors are usually both the members and the trustees, which gives them direct control over scheme decisions. Because it is a single pooled trust, several family members can combine their pension funds to buy larger assets, most commonly the company's own trading premises.
The defining feature of a SSAS is the loanback. The scheme can lend up to 50% of its net assets to the sponsoring employer, secured by a first charge, at a commercial interest rate of at least 1% above base rate, over a maximum five-year term with equal instalments. This lets a business recycle pension capital back into the trade while the pension earns interest. A SIPP cannot do this.
Employer contributions to a SSAS are paid gross and are normally deductible against corporation tax, subject to the wholly and exclusively test. With corporation tax at 25% on profits over GBP 250,000 in 2026/27, a deductible employer contribution can be a very efficient way to extract company profit into a tax-sheltered wrapper.
How a SIPP Works
A SIPP is a personal pension that one individual owns and controls, administered by an FCA-regulated provider. It offers a very wide investment choice -- funds, shares, investment trusts, and at the full-SIPP end, commercial property and borrowing. A low-cost SIPP holding funds can be extremely cheap to run, which makes it ideal for individuals who simply want more investment freedom than a workplace scheme allows.
Personal contributions to a SIPP receive 20% basic-rate tax relief at source: pay in GBP 800 and the provider reclaims GBP 200, making GBP 1,000 invested. Higher-rate taxpayers claim a further 20% and additional-rate taxpayers a further 25% through self assessment. The standard annual allowance of GBP 60,000 for 2026/27 applies across all your pensions combined.
A SIPP cannot lend to a connected company or hold a controlling stake in your own trading business in the way a SSAS can. For most individual savers this makes no difference; for a business owner who wants the pension to interact with the company, it is a key limitation.
Worked Example: Director Employer Contribution
A company has GBP 60,000 of profit it wants to direct into the owner-director's pension in 2026/27, using the full standard annual allowance. The director compares extracting it as salary versus an employer pension contribution to either wrapper.
| Route | Into the pension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Employer contribution (SSAS or SIPP) | GBP 60,000 | Gross, no NI, deductible against CT |
| Same amount taken as salary first | Much less | Income tax + 8% then 2% employee NI + 15% employer NI |
Either wrapper receives the full GBP 60,000 as a deductible employer contribution, so on the contribution itself a SSAS and a SIPP are tax-identical. The choice between them turns on what you want the pension to do next: if the GBP 60,000 will help fund a loanback to the company or a pooled property purchase with family members, a SSAS is the natural home; if it will simply be invested in funds and shares for one person, a SIPP is simpler and usually cheaper.
When a SSAS Wins, When a SIPP Wins
A SSAS tends to win for owner-managed and family businesses that want the pension to work alongside the company: making loanbacks to fund growth, buying the trading premises with pooled family funds, or passing assets between generations within one trust. The per-scheme (rather than per-member) fee structure also helps where several family members are involved.
A SIPP tends to win for individuals -- employees, contractors and sole directors -- who want broad investment freedom without the trustee responsibilities and administration of running an occupational scheme. A low-cost fund-based SIPP is cheap, simple, FCA-regulated and quick to open, with no need for a sponsoring employer. For most people who are not running a family company, a SIPP is the right answer.