Small Self-Administered Schemes (SSAS)
A pension built around your business
A Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) is an occupational pension scheme, typically established by the directors of a private limited company. Unlike a personal pension, a SSAS is administered by its trustees, who are usually also the scheme’s members. This gives business owners collective control of the scheme’s investments and access to features no other UK pension offers, most notably the ability to lend money to the sponsoring company.
A SSAS can be particularly attractive where several directors or family members wish to pool pension assets and make collective investment decisions, which is why SSASs are often described as “family pensions”.
Why consider a SSAS?
A SSAS may be suitable if you:
Although SSAS arrangements provide considerable opportunities, they also involve trustee responsibilities and additional administration, making professional advice particularly important.
Lending to your business: the SSAS loanback
The feature that most clearly sets a SSAS apart is the loanback. A SSAS can lend up to 50% of its net assets to the sponsoring company, provided strict HMRC conditions are met. Broadly, the loan must be secured by a first legal charge over an asset of sufficient value, carry a commercial rate of interest (at least 1% above average bank base rates), be repaid in equal instalments of capital and interest, and run for no more than five years.
For a growing business, this means the directors’ own pension fund can finance the company, with the interest paid back into their pension rather than to a bank. Loans that fail HMRC’s tests trigger significant tax charges, so structure matters; this is exactly where specialist advice earns its keep.
Buying commercial property through a SSAS
Like a SIPP, a SSAS can purchase commercial property (offices, industrial units, shops or land) and can borrow up to 50% of its net assets to help fund the purchase. Pooling members’ funds creates buying power that individual pensions often lack.
A SSAS can even buy property from a connected party, including the sponsoring company or its directors, provided the transaction takes place at an independently verified market value. The company then pays rent into the scheme: a deductible expense for the business, growing tax-efficiently inside the pension. Holding your trading premises this way is one of the most popular reasons directors establish a SSAS.
SSAS or SIPP?
A Self Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is a personal arrangement for an individual. A SSAS is a company-sponsored scheme for up to 11 members who act as trustees together. The practical differences: a SSAS can lend to the sponsoring company and pools members’ funds, but it costs more to run and requires joint decision-making. Where the loanback and pooling features aren’t needed, a SIPP is usually the simpler answer. We advise on both and will recommend whichever genuinely fits.
Professional SSAS advice in Swansea
Whether you are establishing a new scheme, taking over the running of an existing one, or exploring a loanback or property purchase, independent advice helps you use a SSAS’s flexibility without falling foul of the rules. Call 01792 720 200 to speak to a SSAS specialist. We advise trustees and directors across Swansea, South Wales and beyond.
Please note: pension rules and tax legislation may change in the future, and the value of investments can fall as well as rise. Tax treatment depends on your individual circumstances.
Frequently Asked Questions
Last reviewed: August 2026
Small Self-Administered Scheme Enquiry
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