Choosing a SIPP is not just about finding the cheapest fees. The right provider depends entirely on your pot size, how hands-on you want to be, and what you plan to invest in. Here is the honest breakdown so you do not end up paying too much or choosing the wrong structure for where you are.
This is the single most important factor most comparison guides skip over. A percentage fee is cheaper when your pot is small. A flat fee becomes cheaper as your pot grows. Getting this wrong costs real money over a decade.
Annual platform fees only. Underlying fund charges (typically 0.05 to 0.75% depending on what you invest in) apply on top at every provider.
| Provider | Annual platform fee | Best for pot size | Investment choice | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| PensionBee Simplest | 0.25-0.75% | Under £100k | Managed plans only | Open SIPP → |
| AJ Bell Best all-round | 0.25%, capped £120/yr on shares | £30k to £150k | Funds, shares, ETFs | Open SIPP → |
| Vanguard Lowest cost | 0.15%, capped £375/yr | Any size | Vanguard funds only | Open SIPP → |
| Interactive Investor | £5.99-£14.99/month flat | Above £62k | Funds, shares, ETFs | Check ii.co.uk |
| Hargreaves Lansdown | 0.35%, capped £150/yr on shares | Any, expensive for large pots | Widest range available | Check hl.co.uk |
Sources: provider websites, Wealth365, MoneySavingExpert, July 2026. Fees subject to change. Always check provider's current fee schedule before opening.
PensionBee is the SIPP for people who want to consolidate old workplace pensions into one place without having to become an investor. You do not pick individual funds or shares. Instead you choose from a small selection of managed plans (tracker, fossil fuel free, pre-annuity, Shariah) and PensionBee handles everything else. The app is genuinely the best in class for pension simplicity. The fee ranges from 0.25% for the tracker plans to 0.75% for more specialist options, which is reasonable for smaller pots but becomes expensive as your pot grows into six figures. PensionBee specialises in hunting down and consolidating old workplace pensions, which is genuinely useful if you have worked multiple jobs and lost track of where pensions are sitting.
AJ Bell is the strongest all-round SIPP for people who want to choose their own investments without paying Hargreaves Lansdown prices. The platform fee is 0.25% per year, capped at £10 per month (£120 per year) on shares, ETFs, investment trusts, and bonds, which makes it particularly competitive for share-heavy portfolios above roughly £50,000. The investment range is extensive, covering over 16,000 shares, 4,000 funds, and 3,500 ETFs. Trading fees are £5 per deal, dropping to £3.50 for regular investments. AJ Bell is a FTSE 250 company with over 640,000 clients, publicly listed, and holds a Which? Recommended Provider status for SIPPs and drawdown.
Vanguard is the cheapest SIPP in the UK for investors who are happy to invest in Vanguard's own fund range, which includes index trackers, LifeStrategy multi-asset funds, and target retirement funds. The platform fee is 0.15% per year, capped at £375 annually, which makes it the lowest-cost option for large pension pots. The LifeStrategy funds in particular are genuinely excellent long-term investment vehicles that give broad global diversification in a single fund. The catch, and it is significant for some investors, is that you can only invest in Vanguard's own funds. There is no access to individual shares, investment trusts, or third-party ETFs and funds.
Interactive Investor uses a flat monthly fee rather than a percentage, which makes it increasingly good value as your pension pot grows. On the Core plan at £5.99/month (£71.88/year), it becomes cheaper than a 0.25% percentage-fee provider once your pot exceeds roughly £29,000, and dramatically cheaper above £100,000. On a £500,000 pension pot, Interactive Investor costs around £179/year versus approximately £1,250 at AJ Bell and around £1,750 at Hargreaves Lansdown. The flat fee model is the most cost-effective structure for serious investors building towards a large retirement pot. The investment range is comprehensive and research tools are strong.
Hargreaves Lansdown is the UK's largest DIY investment platform with over 2 million clients, and it consistently wins awards for customer service and platform quality. From March 2026, HL reduced its platform fee from 0.45% to 0.35%, making it more competitive than it was, though still more expensive than AJ Bell and significantly more expensive than Interactive Investor for large pots. The fund and share range is the most comprehensive available, covering over 14,000 investments. HL's research tools, market data, and helpdesk are genuinely better than competitors. The premium is real but so is what you get for it. Whether that premium is worth paying depends entirely on how much you value the platform experience versus the fee difference.
If you work for the NHS and are in the NHS Pension Scheme, you almost certainly should not be opening a SIPP as a replacement for your NHS pension. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit (final salary style) scheme with a guaranteed income in retirement, index-linked, and with an employer contribution of 23.7% of your pensionable pay. This is one of the most valuable pension schemes in the UK and it cannot be replicated by any SIPP.
Where a SIPP can genuinely add value for NHS staff is as an additional pension vehicle for savings above what the NHS pension covers. If you have previous non-NHS employment and have old private or workplace pension pots sitting with former employers, consolidating these into a SIPP while keeping the NHS pension untouched is a sensible strategy. PensionBee is particularly well suited to this because of its pension-hunting and consolidation service.
If you are considering any transfer of NHS pension benefits into a SIPP, you must take regulated financial advice first. NHS pension transfers are complex, involve significant irreversible decisions, and require FCA-regulated advice by law for pots above £30,000.
A SIPP is a Self-Invested Personal Pension: a pension wrapper that gives you control over where your money is invested, rather than leaving it to a fund manager in a standard workplace pension. The most important thing about any pension, SIPP or otherwise, is the tax relief. For every £80 you contribute, the government adds £20, bringing your total contribution to £100. If you pay higher-rate tax, you can claim an additional £20 back through self-assessment, meaning a £100 pension contribution costs you only £60. This is the most tax-efficient way to save for retirement available to most UK workers, and it is the primary reason to use a pension rather than a regular investment account.
This is the most consequential decision when choosing a SIPP, and most people get it wrong because comparison sites present a single fee number without explaining that the right structure depends entirely on your pot size. A 0.25% fee on a £20,000 pot is £50 per year. A flat fee of £5.99 per month is £71.88 per year. At £20,000, percentage wins. At £100,000, the same 0.25% is £250 per year versus £71.88 flat. Flat wins by over £170 per year. At £500,000, the difference is over £1,000 per year. Compounded over decades, choosing the wrong structure is one of the most expensive financial mistakes you can make with a pension.
A 0.25 percentage point difference in annual fees sounds trivial. On a £100,000 pension pot growing at 5% per year over 25 years, that difference compounds to approximately £15,000 to £20,000 by retirement. On a £500,000 pot, the same calculation produces a difference of over £75,000. Fees compound in reverse the same way that investment returns compound forward: every pound you lose to fees is a pound that never earns future returns. This is why choosing the right provider structure for your pot size matters far more than choosing the provider with the best app or the most recognisable brand name.
You do not need regulated financial advice to open a straightforward new SIPP and make contributions into it. However, there are specific situations where regulated advice is either legally required or strongly recommended. These include: transferring a defined benefit (final salary) pension worth over £30,000 into a SIPP (legally required), transferring any NHS, teachers, civil service, or other public sector pension (strongly recommended, legally required above £30,000), and any situation where guaranteed benefits or protected pension ages might be lost in a transfer. You can find FCA-regulated pension advisers at moneyhelper.org.uk or through a regulated financial planning firm. The cost of advice is real but the cost of an irreversible wrong decision is typically much higher.
There is no single best SIPP for everyone. For simplicity and consolidation of old pensions, PensionBee. For self-directed investing with wide choice and reasonable fees, AJ Bell. For the lowest costs on index fund investing, Vanguard. For large pots above £100,000 where flat fees save significant money, Interactive Investor. For the best platform experience at a premium price, Hargreaves Lansdown. The right answer depends on your pot size, investment style, and how hands-on you want to be.
Basic rate taxpayers receive 20% tax relief at source, meaning a £100 contribution costs £80 out of your pocket. Higher rate taxpayers can claim an additional 20% through self-assessment, making a £100 contribution cost £60. Additional rate taxpayers can claim 25% extra on top, making the same contribution cost £55. The annual allowance for pension contributions including tax relief is £60,000 for 2026/27, or 100% of your annual earnings if lower.
Generally no, not as a replacement. The NHS Pension Scheme is a defined benefit pension with guaranteed income, employer contributions of 23.7%, and inflation-linked increases. This cannot be matched by any SIPP. However, a SIPP can be useful as an additional vehicle for savings above the NHS pension, or for consolidating old non-NHS pension pots from previous employment. Never consider transferring NHS pension benefits into a SIPP without regulated financial advice.
From age 57 from 2028 (rising from the current 55). At that point you can take 25% of your pension pot as a tax-free lump sum and access the rest flexibly through drawdown, subject to income tax. You do not have to take all the money at once. Most people use drawdown to take an income gradually through retirement, keeping the rest invested.
A SIPP is a type of personal pension, but with wider investment choice. A standard personal pension gives you access to a curated selection of typically 50 to 200 funds chosen by the provider. A SIPP gives you access to thousands of funds, ETFs, shares, investment trusts, and bonds. SIPPs suit self-directed investors. Standard personal pensions and managed SIPPs like PensionBee suit people who want a simpler, more hands-off approach.