Jurisdiction(s):
United Kingdom

Related legal acts

Key definition

Self-administered definition

What does Self-administered mean? In pensions practice, “self-administered” describes a scheme where the trustees hold the assets and invest them directly or through an external investment manager, rather than benefits being provided wholly under a single insurance policy (an “insured” scheme). It is a descriptive industry term, not generally defined in legislation or case law. Key legal features and implications: - Trustee control and accountability for investment strategy and implementation, including appointing and overseeing investment managers and custodians. - Compliance with trustee investment duties and governance (for example, preparing a statement of investment principles and ongoing monitoring, where required by law and regulator guidance). - Wider...

Small self-administered schemes: legal and tax framework, governance exemptions, employer loans and borrowing limits, investment rules (ERIs and IRPS), PPF ineligibility, share sale due diligence, and scam prevention

Published by a LexisNexis Pensions expert

Practice notes

What is a SSAS?

A SSAS is an HMRC-registered pension arrangement designed to deliver defined contribution (DC) benefits for no more than 11 members, typically within smaller, family-run or closely managed companies. As a result, the membership commonly comprises the company’s proprietors alongside other key or senior staff, and may include their close relatives even where those relatives are not employees. SSASs are usually created by the sponsoring employer as trust-based occupational schemes. Members are required to act as the scheme’s trustees; however, a professional trustee can be appointed to help with administration. If no professional trustee is engaged, the member trustees often retain an actuarial consultancy to advise on running and administering the scheme. Contributions can be paid by members and/or the employer. Because it is a registered pension scheme, contributions qualify for tax relief. For more detail, see Practice Note: Member and employer pension contributions—tax relief. While SSASs have features in common with self-invested pension arrangements—especially around permitted investment of assets—they are not group personal pension schemes...

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Kevin Gude

Keystone Law

A group risk benefits and pensions law expert who advises employers, trustees, insurers and employee benefit consultancies. Over a career of more than 35 years, he has worked with employers’ finance, risk and HR teams on the design, implementation and revision of their businesses’ trust and contract-based benefit plans, including life assurance, medical and pension schemes.Kevin’s reputation in his field has led many international businesses to turn to him for specialist, off-panel advice. His expertise includes providing specialist advice to insurers and other third-party product providers in the review and modernisation of the governing documentation and delivery of their health benefit and group risk products, and advising on legal and regulatory compliance details associated with customer-facing materials for new financial service products....

Wyn Derbyshire

gunnercooke LLP

Wyn is a partner at gunnercooke LLP and specialises in pensions, trust and employment law in all industry sectors, dealing with the transactional, advisory and documentation aspects.He also has wide experience of the pensions implications of heavyweight corporate transactions and flotations, the issues arising from the establishment and merger of pension schemes, and sex equalisation and other discrimination issues in respect of benefits provided by pension schemes. In addition, he provides advice to pension scheme trustees generally.Recent transactions include advising Amcor on pension matters relating to the acquisition of Alcan business and the acquisition of Northern Foods PLC by Boparan Holdings.He is a co-author (with Stephen Hardy and Stephen Maffey) of TUPE: Law and Practice, published by Spiramus Press (now in its 4th edition), and co-author (with Stephen Hardy and David Wicks) of Money & Work, published by Spiramus Press in August 2007. He has also...

Web page updated on 21/05/2026

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