- Investment growth of your savings in your pension is not taxed
- In a personal pension such as the Fidelity SIPP, we can claim 20% tax relief from the Government and add it to the money you save
- You can save up to £60,000* a year in your pension and receive tax relief so long as it’s not more than you earned (or to £3,600 if you have no earnings).
- You can claim money off your tax bill if you pay more than the basic rate of income tax.
- From the age of 55 (57 from 2028) you can normally take a tax-free lump sum worth up to 25% of your pension, as long as this amount is not higher than your remaining lump sum allowance.
Saving for retirement in your 40s
Important information - the value of investments can go down as well as up so you may not get back what you invest. Eligibility to invest in a SIPP and tax treatment depends on personal circumstances and all tax rules may change in the future. You cannot normally access money in a SIPP until age 55 (57 from 2028). It’s important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone.
You’ve probably been saving for a while now and it's likely you've accumulated a number of employer pension pots over the years. This can be a good time to take stock of what you have, and make the most of the opportunity still open to you. If you haven’t really given a thought to retirement yet, there’s still time to make a big difference to your pension.
Planning your retirement
The first step is to figure out what you might need in retirement, and what your current pensions might provide.
How much will you need?
Get an indication of the annual income you may need in retirement to help you work out how much you need to save.
Retirement calculatorAre you saving enough?
Answer five questions and we’ll show you whether you’re on the right track to saving enough to achieve your retirement goals.
Pension calculatorThe tax benefits of a pension
By how much can you boost your retirement savings?
| BASIC RATE TAXPAYERS | 40% RATE TAXPAYERS | 45% RATE TAXPAYERS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| You Pay | Government adds | Total in your SIPP | Claim back up to an extra | Effective cost as little as | Claim back up to an extra | Effective cost as little as |
| £8,000 | £2,000 | £10,000 | £2,000 | £6,000 | £2,500 | £5,500 |
| £32,000 | £8,000 | £40,000 | £8,000 | £24,000 | £10,000 | £22,000 |
| £80,000 | - | - | £20,000 | £60,000 | £25,000 | £55,000 |
| £104,000 | - | - | £26,000 | £78,000 | £32,500 | £71,500 |
These examples are not tailored to individual circumstances and are based on the rates of tax relief for residents in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Rates of tax relief for Scottish Residents differ to the rest of the UK.
Remember, to receive tax relief, your personal contributions can’t be any higher than your earnings. The rate at which you can receive tax relief depends on the rate of Income Tax that is applied to your earnings, which will vary depending on the amount you earn and where you are resident for tax purposes.
Tax treatment and eligibility to invest in a pension depend on personal circumstances. All tax rules may change in the future.
Note: your total contribution amount is not the amount you pay in, though in some cases it will be, but rather this is the amount that will be in the pension after the contribution has been made and basic rate tax relief has been added.
An essential guide to saving for retirement
Did you know a single person will need about £41,300 a year for a comfortable retirement? With the new State Pension paying a maximum of £11,502.40 per year from April 2024, there’s clearly a gap.
Our guide provides you all the information you need to make sure you’re ready for the future you want.
Source: Pension and Lifetime Savings Association - UK Retirement Living Standards in 2023.
Thinking of paying a large contribution?
If you have income of £200,000 or more (including pension contributions from an employer), you need to be aware of the tapered annual allowance - please read our guide for more information.
Thinking of transferring?
To find out what you should consider first, please read our Fidelity SIPP transfer guide.
Our award-winning approach
We don’t like to blow our own trumpet, but it's nice when someone else does. We’re also proud to be a Which? Recommended Provider for Self-Invested Personal Pensions – four years running.
What next?
If you want to open a new pension or transfer an existing pension to Fidelity, then take a look at our Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP). It’s a flexible, tax-efficient and easy-to-manage pension designed to help you to reach your pension goals.
Open a pension
- A tax-efficient way to invest for your retirement (subject to limits)*
- Benefit from 20% government tax relief, added to your SIPP account
- If you pay Income Tax at higher than the basic rate, you may be able to claim even more tax relief through your tax return
- Employers can also contribute. Payments from a limited company are considered employer contributions
Transfer a pension
- It’s easy to submit your transfer request online, and depending on your current pension provider your transfer could be complete in ten business days.
- We’ll contact your providers and arrange for your investments (or cash) to be brought into your Fidelity account
- We’ll pay any exit fee (up to £500 per person, T&Cs apply**) that your current provider may charge you
- If you apply to transfer a SIPP through our website, you can track your transfer's progress using our transfer tracking tool.
*Tax relief is only available on the lower of the annual allowance (currently £60,000) or 100% of your earnings in a given tax year (or to £3,600 if you have no earnings). If you exceed your annual allowance you may have a tax charge to pay unless you have unused allowance you can carry forward. If you have earnings of £200,000 or more, the amount you can pay in and receive tax relief on could be ' tapered' down to £10,000. Alternatively, if you’ve already taken taxable income from your pension pot, your annual allowance may be £10,000 (known as the money purchase annual allowance) and you will not be able to use carry forward to contribute to a SIPP.
For more information on tax relief and all the allowances please visit our pension allowances page.
Important information - It’s important to understand that pension transfers are a complex area and may not be suitable for everyone. Before going ahead with a pension transfer, we strongly recommend that you undertake a full comparison of the benefits, charges and features offered. To find out what else you should consider before transferring, please read our transfer factsheet. If you are in any doubt whether or not a pension transfer is suitable for your circumstances we strongly recommend that you speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
Take control of your pensions by bringing them together
Trying to manage pensions across different providers can be both time-consuming and difficult. Bringing them together into Fidelity’s Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) can help you take control and plan ahead more effectively.
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Important information: This information is not a personal recommendation for any particular investment. If you are unsure about the suitability of an investment please speak to one of Fidelity’s advisers or an authorised financial adviser of your choice.
Exit fees terms and conditions
In order to request exit fees re-imbursement you will be required to complete an exit fees re-imbursement form which you can download here, or request over the phone by calling us on 0333 300 3351.
Terms and conditions for re-imbursement of exit fees
Fidelity will reimburse the exit/redemption fees charged to a customer by their former provider/s when they move their investments (minimum of £1,000) to Fidelity, up to a maximum amount of £500 per customer.
An exit fee is an administration charge which is imposed by the former provider and arises directly as a result of processing the transfer or re-registration of the customer’s investments to Fidelity. Fidelity will not reimburse the customer for any loss of investment returns, loss of interest, dealing charges, penalties for transferring investments before their maturity dates or any other charges associated with your transfer or re-registration.
Where a re-registration or transfer is not possible and the customer chooses to sell their investments held through another provider and subsequently make new investment/s (minimum £10,000) through Fidelity, Fidelity will cover any account closure fees charged by the customer’s former provider (excluding any dealing charges) of up to £500 per customer. Fidelity will not cover any bid-offer spreads or any capital gains tax liability arising as a result of these transactions.
Exit and account closure fees reimbursement must be claimed within a 6 month period from date of transfer of the customer’s investments to Fidelity. Exit fees will be reimbursed for transfers and re-registrations and account closure fees will be reimbursed provided the conditions above are met. Products included: ISAs, PEPs, Unit Trusts, OEICs, SICAVs, Fidelity Personal Pension, EBS SIPP and the Fidelity SIPP. Products excluded: ShareNetwork.
To qualify for the reimbursement, the fees from the customer’s former provider must have been triggered as a direct result of the transfer or re-registration to Fidelity, or the closure of an account where the customer has subsequently (within 6 months) invested at least £10,000 through Fidelity. If the customer is transferring investments to more than one provider from their former provider at the same time, Fidelity will only reimburse the fees which are incurred as a result of direct transfer or re-registration to Fidelity. Other fees or charges unconnected with the transfer will not be reimbursed.
The completed Exit Fee Reimbursement Form and documentary evidence of the charge will need to be provided in order for the exit fees to be reimbursed to the customer. To claim the reimbursement of any account closure fees, documentary evidence of the closure fee levied will need to be provided to Fidelity, along with confirmation that a minimum of £10,000 has been invested with Fidelity within 6 months of incurring such closure fee.
The documentary evidence referred to above, must be either a copy of the charge confirmation letter from the former provider or a statement showing the charge being deducted.
Payment will be made to the customer by BACS when a bank mandate is held on the account. Alternatively, payment will be made by cheque.
Open SIPP
You will need:
- Your National Insurance number
- Debit card details (for a single payment)
- Bank or building society details (if you’re planning on setting up a regular savings plan)
- Your annual allowance (if you are over 55)
Existing customer
If you already have a Fidelity account, log in here to open your SIPP.
New customer
If you're new to Fidelity, you can open your account here.
Open my SIPP
Exit fees terms and conditions
In order to request exit fees re-imbursement you will be required to complete an exit fees re-imbursement form which you can download by clicking here, or request over the phone by calling us on 0333 300 3351.
Terms and conditions for re-imbursement of exit fees
This offer does not apply to any investments linked to an Adviser / Intermediary or third party.
Fidelity will reimburse the exit/redemption fees charged to a customer by their former provider/s when they move their investments (minimum of £100) to Fidelity Personal Investing, up to a maximum amount of £500 per customer.
An exit fee is an administration charge which is imposed by the former provider and arises directly as a result of processing the transfer or re-registration of the customer’s investments to Fidelity. Fidelity will not reimburse the customer for any loss of investment returns, loss of interest, dealing charges, penalties for transferring investments before their maturity dates or any other charges associated with your transfer or re-registration.
Where a re-registration or transfer is not possible and the customer chooses to sell their investments held through another provider and subsequently make new investment/s (minimum £10,000) through Fidelity Personal Investing, Fidelity will cover any account closure fees charged by the customer’s former provider (excluding any dealing charges) of up to £500 per customer. Fidelity will not cover any bid-offer spreads or any capital gains tax liability arising as a result of these transactions.
Exit and account closure fees reimbursement must be claimed within a 6 month period from date of transfer of the customer’s investments to Fidelity. Exit fees will be reimbursed for transfers and re-registrations and account closure fees will be reimbursed provided the conditions above are met. Products included: ISAs, Investment Accounts, EBS SIPP, Fidelity Personal Pension, Fidelity SIPP, Unit Trusts, OEICs, SICAVs, Exchange Traded Funds, Investment Trusts and Shares.
To qualify for the reimbursement, the fees from the customer’s former provider must have been triggered as a direct result of the transfer or re-registration to Fidelity Personal Investing, or the closure of an account where the customer has subsequently (within 6 months) invested at least £10,000 through Fidelity Personal Investing. If the customer is transferring investments to more than one provider from their former provider at the same time, Fidelity will only reimburse the fees which are incurred as a result of direct transfer or re-registration to Fidelity. Other fees or charges unconnected with the transfer will not be reimbursed.
The completed Exit Fee Reimbursement Form and documentary evidence of the charge will need to be provided in order for the exit fees to be reimbursed to the customer. To claim the reimbursement of any account closure fees, documentary evidence of the closure fee levied will need to be provided to Fidelity, along with confirmation that a minimum of £10,000 has been invested with Fidelity within 6 months of incurring such closure fee.
The documentary evidence referred to above, must be either a copy of the charge confirmation letter from the former provider or a statement showing the charge being deducted.
Payment will be made to the customer by BACS when a bank mandate is held on the account. Alternatively, payment will be made by cheque.
