Who can have a SSAS (Small Self Administered Pension Scheme)?
Your client can set up a SSAS pension if they are:
- a director who is a company owner and paid a salary OR
- an employee, with agreement from their employer.
What is a SSAS pension?
A SSAS pension is a tax-efficient occupational pension plan. It offers additional benefits to the conventional pension schemes provided by life-assurance companies. A SSAS is self-administered, which allows your client to control their contributions and investments. Traditionally, a SSAS has fewer than 12 members, but some providers, such as Independent Trustee Company, provide one-member schemes only.
Under Revenue rules, an approved independent Pensioneer Trustee is appointed to the scheme and administers it in line with Revenue rules and regulations. Your client will act as co-trustee on their SSAS with the Revenue approved Pensioneer Trustee, such as Independent Trustee Company.
What are the benefits of a SSAS?
Your client benefits in a variety of ways:
- A SSAS is flexible and can change to suit your client’s circumstances.
- A SSAS is portable, which means your client can continue to use it even if they change employer.
- Your client can enjoy tax relief at their highest rate of tax on any personal contributions made (subject to Revenue limits).
- Your client has no tax liability for any company/employer contributions made on their behalf.
- The SSAS assets grow free of both capital gains tax and income tax.
- Your client may retire at age 50 and take their benefits.
- Your client can plan how their eventual retirement benefits are taken, in order to reduce their tax liability. For example, they may take a portion of their benefits as a tax-free lump sum and/or set up an Approved Retirement Fund to keep their investments in a tax-efficient environment.
- If your client is a company director, their company's current profits and retained earnings can be transferred into the SSAS for their benefit.
Your client’s company/employer benefits:
- Your client’s company/employer can claim full corporation tax relief on company contributions made to the SSAS, to reduce their corporation tax liability.
- Your client’s company/employer is not required to act as trustee or administrator on the SSAS, which reduces their obligations.
- Your client’s company/employer can vary contributions each year to suit the financial circumstances of the company.
- The SSAS is confidential and separate from any other staff benefits scheme within the company.
- Your client’s company/employer can use a SSAS as a tool for remunerating, motivating and retaining key employees who are not directors.
- Your client’s company/employer can use the SSAS as part of an efficient business exit plan for retiring directors or key employees.
Why choose an ITC SSAS?
The ITC SSAS provides your client with control, flexibility, transparency and security.
1. Control
Your client is a co-trustee of their SSAS, with control over investment and funding decisions. Their signature is required to authorise any movement of funds within their SSAS.
Your client does not have to delegate the responsibility to an insurance company fund manager, for whom they may be just one among many policyholders. Your client can create a personal investment plan that fits their risk appetite, their budget and their retirement target. The investment choices can be sourced from a wide variety of Irish and international investment providers. For example, there is the option to invest in lower-risk investments such as cash and government bonds, or in higher-risk investments such as mezzanine private equities.
Your client controls when to start and stop or increase and decrease contributions to suit their circumstances, rather than according to the terms of an insurance company contract.
2. Transparency
You and your client will be provided with details on the set-up costs before any decision is made. The ongoing cost of your client’s SSAS is fully transparent and depends on the investment strategy, which is controlled by the client.
Your client will have online access to their operating bank account. This allows them to track the movement of monies within their SSAS in real time.
Annual accounts are prepared and issued showing all income and expenditure of the SSAS. Our ITC SSAS compares favourably with the pensions of insurance companies, which are likely to issue an annual statement showing the value of the units held in their funds.
3. Flexibility
Your client’s needs and circumstances shape the investment strategy as well as the level and timing of contributions. For example, if your client’s salary has been cut, contributions to the SSAS can cease or be reduced at no charge.
Your client’s SSAS is portable, which means they can continue to use it even if they change employer. Unlike with an insurance company pension scheme, your client will not be required to cash in all investments so it can be moved to the new employer’s scheme.
Your client has the flexibility to plan how their eventual retirement benefits are taken, to suit their circumstances.
4. Security
Your client’s pension assets are held in trust on their behalf through a SSAS. This means they are completely segregated from our assets, other clients' assets and their company/employer’s assets. This differs from the situation with insurance companies, which hold hold pension assets on their balance sheet.
If their company fails, your client’s SSAS is secure from creditors' claims.
What are the next steps?
- Contact us.
- Download our brochure (pdf, 514KB) and our application form (pdf, 241KB)
- For further details, take a look at our FAQ.