SSAS has seen a renaissance as both consumers and advisers understand its distinct advantages, especially with respect to specific changes made, which impact on IHT planning, which allows complex assets to pass directly onto family members tax-free in the event of death. This point is confirmed by a recent Xafinity survey of financial advisers, with interests in retirement planning, which showed that 78% believed that the death benefit changes would increase the use of SSAS.
Andy Bowsher, director of Self Invested Pensions at Xafinity added, “We have seen a significant increase in SSAS business, and it’s great to see this long respected mainstay of SME pension planning back in vogue again. Over recent years the growing popularity of SIPP has drawn attention from SSAS but, more recently, and as a direct result of the surge in interest in pensions following the reforms, SSAS appears to be undergoing a renaissance. One of the main reasons has been a re-familiarisation and education for advisers. The new freedoms plus the ability to pass even relatively complex assets, such as commercial property, directly onto family through the pension scheme, in the event of death, opens a significant space for this product.”
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