Talbot and Muir

Advantages

In addition to favourable tax treatment, a SSAS provides many other advantages not available to insurance company schemes:

• The Trustees of the scheme can exercise direct control over the investments of the trust fund, meaning they can take advantage of a wide range of investment opportunities without the need to affiliate to one particular insurance company.
• As the SSAS is independently managed, there is a great deal of flexibility in establishing levels of contributions and benefits for the members. The company is not, for example, committed to paying regular premiums to an insurance company, but can link contribution payments to available profits, cash flow etc.
• The substantial hidden commissions and expenses incurred by packaged schemes offered by insurance companies are avoided.
• A major feature of a SSAS is the ability to defer the purchase of annuities for retiring members, irrespective of their retirement age. 
• Using a SSAS, the Trustees have use and control of the pension fund assets potentially up to age 75 and beyond.
  Pension legislation allows SSAS Trustees to pay various benefits in the event of death in service, retirement, and at benefit crystallisation. These are summarised as follows:
  • Pension drawdown
  • Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS)
  • Lump sum death benefits
  • Widows, widowers, and dependants pensions
  • Increases on pensions in payment
    

A SSAS is usually operated on a "money purchase" basis, i.e. the benefits from the scheme upon retirement are equal in value to each member's share of the total scheme assets. A member's share is determined by the timing and size of the contributions paid on his behalf plus the investment return.

Features & Benefits Summary:

• Full tax relief on contributions (subject to HMRC limits and rules)
• Investment growth largely tax-free within pension fund
• Wide pension fund investment powers
• Ability to receive transfer values from other schemes
• No stringent insurance company policy conditions
• Cost-effective fee-based charging structure
• Personal control by directors of own pension scheme
• Avoidance of early retirement and transfer value penalties