A Small Self Administered Scheme (SSAS) is a form of occupational pension which enables member trustees to make their own investment decisions within HMRC guidelines. Some of the investment choices available to a small self administered scheme member trustee are investments that many would not normally associate with a pension.
A small self administered scheme enables owner directors, as individuals or a group, to choose from a number of self investment options including secured commercial loans to a sponsoring employer, a commercial property purchase and an intellectual property purchase.
The small self administered scheme also provides long term flexibility of investment. Owner directors may choose various self investment strategies over time to maximise the self investment opportunities within the scheme, facilitating long term interaction with their businesses. This may result in the small self administered scheme providing multiple loans and asset purchases as scheme investments, as an alternative to solely investing in traditional investments.
The ultimate aim of a small self administered scheme is to provide income in retirement for the member trustees. Throughout the initial pension savings period which benefits from tax efficiency on contributions and investments, the member trustees also have the opportunity to interact with their businesses via the self investment options available to them under scheme rules.
If you would like more information or advice on how a small self administered scheme can work for you, please contact us.