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What are SIPPs?

A SIPP (a Self-Invested Pension Plan) is a pension account that allows individuals to save and invest money for retirement. It’s a flexible, independent way for individuals to save, invest, and receive tax relief from the government, outside of the traditional managed pension industry.

SIPPs were created as an alternative to the UK standard personal pension, with the aim of giving investors the freedom to manage portfolios with their choice of funds, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, and ETFs (exchange-traded funds).

For more information, check out our longer SIPPs guide: Everything you need to know about SIPPs


Who can open a SIPP? 

To open a SIPP, you must be - 

  • A UK resident or a Crown Employee 
  • Under 75 years of age

Once funds are deposited into a SIPP, they will grow free of tax. Individuals can start withdrawing funds from age 55, even if they are still employed, but can only withdraw 25% of the pension tax-free. 

Benefits of opening a SIPP 

  • A SIPP gives you more freedom and flexibility to manage your money according to your needs.


  • You can access a wide range of investments such as shares, bonds and ETFs.


  • You can get tax relief in the form of a top-up from the government in your SIPP account.

    For example, if you deposit £2,880, you will receive a tax relief of £720 for a total contribution of £3,600 into your SIPP.

  • With SIPPs, you have greater control over the risks your portfolio is exposed to and the potential of your investments. 

WealthKernel’s SIPP APIs 

Using our product wrapper API, you can offer digital SIPPs to your clients. Our flexible SIPP API will enable you to meet the modern customer's needs with a regulated, digital-first SIPP proposition, and the option of paper-based pension transfers (where required).

“SIPPs are an incredibly valuable savings vehicle that allow people to have more say over how their pensions are invested, and we’re thrilled to be helping bring them to a wider audience. Thanks to seamless integration with our APIs, fintechs large and small will be able to support their customers with greater flexibility for their retirement savings…,” - Karan Shanmugarajah, CEO of WealthKernel. 

Pension-tech firm Penny is one of the first businesses to integrate WealthKernel’s digital SIPP for offering additional retirement saving capabilities to its users alongside their traditional pension pots. 

To learn more about using our account creation API, check this article out - https://docs.wealthkernel.com/docs/guides/ZG9jOjE2OTYwNzA4-account-basics