Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP)

Online – using a debit card

Simply log in to Smart Investor to top up your SIPP. Once you’re logged into your account, go to the ‘pay in’ section, where you’ll find a link which takes you to the website of your SIPP administrator AJ Bell. They’ll process your contribution. You’ll be asked for your SIPP Account number and your date of birth.

Please note it will take up to five working days for the money to be available to invest in your SIPP account.

Alternatively, if you top up using any of the options below, you need to complete an Additional Contribution form [PDF, 690KB] which should be sent to AJ Bell scanned and via email to barclayssippadmin@ajbell.co.uk or by post to:

Barclays
SIPP Administration Team
AJ Bell Management Ltd
4 Exchange Quay
Salford Quays
Manchester
M5 3EE

Online – by electronic transfer

Transfer money into your SIPP directly from your bank account. To make an electronic transfer, use the following details to pay in:

Account Name: STL Payments in Account
Account: 06980213
Sort Code: 12-27-34
Reference: [SIPP Account number]

You should see the money on your SIPP within 3-5 days of making the payment to AJ Bell. 

Cheque

To pay into your SIPP by cheque, please make it payable to “Sippdeal Trustees Ltd RE (your name)” and send together with the Additional Contribution Form. Cheques can take up to five days to clear so this can take up to 10 days to appear on your SIPP.

Direct Debit

It’s easy to make regular contributions to your SIPP by Direct Debit. All you’ve got to do is complete the Direct Debit form [PDF, 247KB] and return it to the SIPP administrator, along with your Additional Contribution form [PDF, 690KB].

There’s a limit on the amount of contributions you can make each tax year which attract tax relief, known as your Annual Allowance. This applies to all the total pension contributions that you make in the tax year as you can pay into more than one pension. For most people, this is currently £60,000 per tax year, or 100% of your relevant UK earnings, whichever is lower.

If you have enough relevant UK earnings in the current tax year, you can increase contributions by any unused Annual Allowances from the last three tax years, provided that you belonged to a UK registered pension scheme in the previous tax years.

If you exceed your Annual Allowance you will normally face a tax charge, as any excess contribution will be subject to your marginal rate of income tax.

Your Annual Allowance will be reduced if:

• You have drawn a taxable sum from a defined contribution pension, in which case the amount that you can pay into Defined Contribution or Money Purchase pensions (excluding Defined Benefit pensions) and receive tax relief reduces to £10,000 per tax year or 100% of your income, whichever is lower (and you can also no longer make payments in relation to previous tax years);

• If you earn over £200,000 and your income and pension contributions made on your behalf exceed £260,000 your Annual Allowance will be tapered.

As of 6 April 2024 there will no longer be a maximum amount of pension savings that you can build up over your lifetime. The limit, known as the Lifetime Allowance (LTA), is currently £1,073,100. Any excess was previously taxed at a maximum of 55% but as of April 2024 this will no longer be the case. Until then, whilst the LTA remains in place, the LTA tax charge will be removed, meaning no one will pay an LTA tax charge from 6 April 2023.

The changes mean that you can save into your pensions without the concern of a lifetime allowance tax charge should you breach the limit. However, you should consider whether making any lifetime contributions will affect other entitlements provided under any lifetime allowance protection that you may have.

You’ll need to complete a SIPP transfer form to arrange a transfer into your SIPP. The form can be found by logging in to My hub and selecting ‘SIPP’. We accept transfers from UK pension funds such as:

• Personal pensions
• Executive pension plans
• Stakeholder pensions
• Group pension plans
• Company-sponsored money purchase schemes

Please note that we can’t accept transfers from final or average salary pension schemes into the Barclays SIPP, even if you received advice, as it’s unlikely to be in your best interests to transfer these savings into a SIPP. If you’re unsure if your pension can be transferred in, please get in touch with AJ Bell directly.

Before transferring your pensions, you should check that you wouldn't be giving up any valuable benefits of your existing pensions. This might include loyalty bonuses, guaranteed annuity rates or even spousal pensions.

You’ll need to consider any exit charges that could apply before transferring a pension, and any guarantees you could lose.

For example, you may lose your employer’s contribution as few employers will contribute to a SIPP. There could be other loyalty benefits you’ll forego such as access to a Guaranteed Annuity Rate. These can amount to significant sums of money so it’s really important to make sure you understand the possible ramifications before transferring a pension to ensure you’re making the right decision.

Also, please note that we don’t accept transfers from final or average salary schemes.

Moving your pensions into a SIPP may not always be the best decision, so if you have any doubts whether you should transfer a pension, you should seek advice from a professional financial adviser. Tax rules can change and their effects on you will depend on your individual circumstances. For more information on SIPP Transfer and possible penalties read our factsheet [PDF, 1.3MB].

It’s important to think carefully about the impact of taking benefits or making withdrawals from your pensions on both your current tax position and how you’ll fund your retirement in the future. Remember that you can’t access your pension savings until you reach the age of 55, however, the Government have announced an intention to link this age to 10 years prior to the State Pension age. If this passes into law, the minimum pension age will increase in the future. You can either:

• Take up to 25% of your savings tax-free and then draw a taxed income as you need too; or
• Take a lump sum or even the whole fund at once and 25% will be tax-free. Beware, taking money out of one or more of your pensions in this way may increase your income in a given year significantly and result in you paying more tax than you would do if you drew an income gradually; or
• Buy an annuity – set up a secure income for the rest of your life; or
• Take smaller amounts as and when you like with 25% of each withdrawal being tax-free; or
• You can also use a combination of these options.

Read our factsheet [PDF, 1.3MB] for more information on taking benefits from your SIPP and things you should consider first.

All amounts drawn above the 25% tax-free lump sum will be taxed at your marginal rate at the time.