What is an International SIPP and how are they different?

by Steve Johnson London

If you’re a non-UK resident with a pension in the UK, you may have come across an "International SIPP" and wondered how one of these differs from a "non-International SIPP".

SIPP stands for self invested personal pension and is a type of UK pension plan that can be used to manage your uk pension benefits. It generally gives you greater flexibility and control over your pension than a standard company pension, and is useful for combining all your pensions into one place.

An 'International SIPP' is just like any other SIPP, but normally the fees & charges are a lot higher as they're sold through offshore financial advisers. We'll explain more below.

What is the difference between a SIPP and an 'International SIPP'?

Well essentially, it’s just a name. A SIPP is generally no different to an international SIPP in structure, only that international sipps are marketed to non-UK residents.

It is purely just a marketing gimmick, used by some SIPP providers and offshore financial advisers, to make customers believe they are getting a special unique pension, with features only available to non-uk residents.

The truth is that international sipps have exactly the same tax treatment as a normal sipp or any other UK personal pension plan for that matter.

This marketing plan is also how they try to justify the much higher fees that come with “international sipps”. The fees for an international sipp are often 3 or 4 times higher than for a normal sipp that doesn’t use the ‘international’ marketing tag.

➤ View our SIPP comparison to see how the fees for MyExpatSIPP compare to an International SIPP.

Why transfer your pension to MyExpatSIPP

Our online SIPP service (notice we don't use international) has been designed for expats and non-UK residents and makes managing your pension simple and easy. We have simple and transparent charges and we don't work with offshore financial advisers which means there's no hidden charges or commission being deducted from your pension.

The online investment account allows you to invest in Funds, ETFs, Shares, Bonds, and Investments Trusts. If you're not confident picking your own investments, the ready-made investment portfolios provide an easy way to start investing. The funds in these portfolios are managed by Vanguard and BlackRock, two of the world's largest money managers.

Our team of specialists are on hand to provide you with information and expert guidance on your options as a non-UK resident.

To set up your SIPP and transfer your pension(s), all you need to do is complete our short online application and then we handle the rest, without piles of paperwork to complete.

Speak to us about transferring your pensions.