Choosing a SIPP provider with the right fees is one of the most impactful decisions you’ll make for your retirement savings, because charges compound over time — every pound paid in fees is a pound that stops growing. Rather than freeze a list of provider prices (which change often and date quickly), here’s a framework you can apply to whatever the current rates are.
Why fees matter so much
Over a few years, the difference between a cheap and an expensive platform might look small. Over the 20 or 30 years a pension is invested, it compounds into a meaningful gap — easily thousands of pounds. Keeping costs sensible is one of the few levers in investing you can actually control.
The fees to compare
- Annual platform charge — percentage of your pot, or a flat fee.
- Dealing charges — per trade for shares and ETFs (fund dealing is often free).
- Transfer / exit fees — for moving or closing the account.
- Caps — some percentage-based platforms cap the charge on shares and ETFs, which helps larger portfolios.
Percentage vs flat fee — where the crossover sits
As a rough illustration: a 0.25% annual charge on a £20,000 pot is £50 a year, while a flat-fee platform might cost £120–£250 a year regardless of size. So for smaller pots, percentage pricing usually wins. But on a £200,000 pot that same 0.25% is £500 a year — and the flat fee suddenly looks far cheaper. The crossover point is where your pot grows large enough that a fixed fee beats a percentage. Knowing roughly where you sit relative to that point is more useful than any single “cheapest provider” claim.
How to compare current pricing properly
- Estimate your expected pot size and how often you’ll trade.
- Pull each provider’s current published fees (they list them clearly, and they update them).
- Calculate the all-in annual cost for your situation under each — platform charge plus likely dealing costs.
- Factor in any caps, transfer fees and the quality of the platform and support.
Do that and you’ll have a comparison tailored to you, based on today’s rates rather than a table that’s six months out of date. Fees should be a major factor in your choice, but balance them against service and the investments you need. This is general information, not a recommendation of any specific provider — always check the current terms and decide what’s right for your own circumstances.