Setting Up an International SIPP for Expats: A Step-by-Step Guide

A Self-Invested Personal Pension (SIPP) is the most flexible pension wrapper available in the UK, allowing members to choose their own investments across a wide asset class range. For UK expats, the SIPP has become the default solution for consolidating and managing UK pension savings from abroad — provided you choose a provider with the experience and infrastructure to support non-resident members. This guide walks through every stage of the process, from choosing a provider to drawing an income from overseas.

What Is an International SIPP?

There is no separate legal category called an "international SIPP" — the term is used informally in the adviser community to describe a standard SIPP offered by a provider that specifically accommodates non-UK-resident members. The pension itself is governed by UK legislation and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). What differentiates an "international" provider is their operational willingness to:

• Accept applications from clients resident outside the UK
• Conduct enhanced identity and address verification for non-residents
• Pay pension income by international bank transfer
• Deal with Double Taxation Agreement (DTA) paperwork and HMRC forms
• Provide investment options suitable for a globally mobile client base

Most major retail platforms — Hargreaves Lansdown, AJ Bell, Fidelity — accept non-residents in principle but can become restrictive in practice, particularly for residents of certain jurisdictions. Specialist SIPP providers with dedicated expat servicing teams are often more practical for clients living in the UAE, Thailand, the Americas, or other non-EEA countries.

Step 1: Assessing Your Situation Before You Choose a Provider

Before selecting a SIPP provider, it is worth clarifying several points that will affect which provider is appropriate and how the SIPP will be structured:

Country of residence: Some providers will not accept residents of certain countries due to regulatory constraints (US persons face particularly onerous FATCA compliance requirements, for example). Confirm your jurisdiction is accepted before proceeding.

Total pension pot size: Smaller pots may not justify the charges of a full SIPP. Providers have different minimum fund sizes and charge structures — some flat-fee, some percentage-based, some hybrid. For pots under £50,000, charges are proportionally higher with flat-fee providers.

Nature of existing pensions: Are any of your pots defined benefit (DB)? DB pensions over £30,000 with safeguarded benefits require regulated financial advice before you can transfer. Are there any guaranteed annuity rates (GARs) or protected tax-free cash on existing contracts?

Likelihood of returning to the UK: If there is a reasonable chance you will return to UK employment, keeping pensions in a UK SIPP (rather than transferring to a QROPS) avoids re-transfer costs and complexity.

Investment objectives: Do you want a passively managed, low-cost index portfolio? Or do you require access to direct equities, commercial property, or alternative investments? SIPP providers vary significantly in what they permit.

Step 2: Choosing the Right SIPP Provider

When evaluating providers for non-resident clients, we focus on the following criteria:

Acceptance of your jurisdiction: This is non-negotiable. Confirm in writing before proceeding.

International payment capability: Can they pay into a non-UK bank account? In what currencies? Are foreign exchange costs reasonable, or is there a hidden spread?

Experience with expat clients: Providers who regularly deal with non-resident clients will understand DTA paperwork, NT (No Tax) coding, and HMRC form DT-Individual — those who do not deal with expats regularly may create delays and errors.

Investment menu: Full SIPP platforms offer the widest choice (direct equities, bonds, ETFs, funds, commercial property). "Restricted" SIPPs or personal pension wrappers may limit you to fund selections only.

Charge structure: Annual platform fee (often 0.1%–0.45% of fund value or a flat fee), dealing charges for buying and selling investments, transfer-in charges (often free), and drawdown administration fees.

Regulatory standing: Confirm FCA authorisation and whether the provider is covered by the Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) to the current limit of £85,000 per person per scheme.

Step 3: Completing the Transfer Into Your SIPP

Once you have chosen a provider, the transfer-in process follows a standard sequence:

Obtain transfer values: Request a current transfer value from each ceding scheme (your old workplace pensions or personal pensions). This is the cash equivalent they will pay across. Providers must supply this within three months, though most respond within a few weeks.

Check for safeguarded benefits: Before any transfer, confirm whether the scheme has any safeguarded or guaranteed benefits. If the transfer value exceeds £30,000 and there are safeguarded benefits, you must take regulated financial advice — and a written confirmation of that advice must accompany the transfer request.

Complete the transfer forms: Your receiving SIPP provider will supply transfer request forms. These are sent to the ceding scheme, which confirms the transfer. HMRC clearance is not needed for most pension-to-pension transfers (it is only required in specific circumstances, such as enhanced protection cases).

Allow time: Standard SIPP-to-SIPP transfers take four to eight weeks. ORIGO (the industry electronic transfer platform) has accelerated many transfers, but paper-based transfers from older contract-based schemes can take longer. Overseas transfers to QROPS take longer still.

Transferring between UK pension schemes does not trigger a tax charge and does not use any Annual Allowance — it is a movement of accumulated savings, not a new contribution.

Step 4: Making Investment Choices

One of the principal reasons clients choose a SIPP over a workplace pension default fund is the breadth of investment choice. Within a standard full SIPP you can invest in:

• Individual equities: UK and international shares listed on recognised exchanges
• Exchange-traded funds (ETFs): Low-cost index trackers across global markets, sectors, and asset classes
• Unit trusts and OEICs: Actively managed funds from major asset managers
• Investment trusts: Closed-ended listed funds with their own share prices
• Gilts and corporate bonds: Direct bond holdings
• Commercial property: Some SIPP providers facilitate direct commercial property purchase within the SIPP (subject to strict rules on connected party transactions)
• Cash: Interest-bearing deposit accounts within the SIPP wrapper

For most expat clients, a diversified portfolio of global equity and bond ETFs — held within the SIPP tax wrapper and periodically rebalanced — is both cost-effective and straightforward to manage from abroad. The SIPP provides the tax-efficient wrapper; the investment strategy is separate.

Step 5: Contributing From Abroad

Once you are non-UK resident, your ability to contribute to a SIPP is limited:

Without UK earnings: You can contribute up to £2,880 net per year (the provider claims £720 basic-rate tax relief, making a £3,600 gross contribution). This facility is available for up to five UK tax years after you become non-resident, provided you were a UK resident in at least one of the previous five tax years.

With UK earnings: If you continue to have UK-taxable earnings (a rental income that does not suffice; it must be UK employment or self-employment income), you can contribute up to 100% of those UK earnings, subject to the Annual Allowance (£60,000 in 2026/27). Tax relief is available at your UK marginal rate.

For many expats working on foreign employment contracts, the contribution window is limited, making the consolidation and investment management of existing pots more important than new contributions.

Step 6: Drawing Pension Income From Abroad

From the normal minimum pension age (currently 55, rising to 57 in April 2028), you can draw pension income from your SIPP regardless of where you live. The options are:

Pension Commencement Lump Sum (PCLS): Up to 25% of the pot value can be taken tax-free (subject to the Lump Sum Allowance of £268,275 across your lifetime). The remaining 75% can be drawn as income or left invested.

Flexi-access drawdown: You draw income as and when you need it, leaving the remaining fund invested. Income is taxed as UK income under PAYE.

Annuity: You can use the fund to purchase a guaranteed income for life. Less commonly chosen for expats, given currency and residency complexity.

UK income tax at source: UK pension income is subject to UK income tax deducted at source, even for non-residents. If your country of residence has a DTA with the UK that covers pension income, you can apply for relief. The process:

1. Complete HMRC form DT-Individual
2. Have it countersigned by your local tax authority
3. Submit to HMRC for an NT (No Tax) or reduced withholding code
4. HMRC issues a code to your SIPP provider, who adjusts deductions accordingly

SIPP vs QROPS: Which Should You Choose?

We advise clients on both structures. The choice is not always straightforward:

Choose a SIPP if: You may return to the UK; you are resident in the EEA (where transferring to a QROPS would now generally trigger the Overseas Transfer Charge unless the QROPS is in your country of residence, following the abolition of the EEA exemption on 30 October 2024); your pot is under £100,000 (QROPS set-up costs are disproportionate); you value UK FCA regulation and FSCS protection; you want drawdown flexibility without the complexity of an overseas trust.

Consider QROPS if: You are permanently non-UK resident with no plans to return; you are resident in a country with a good QROPS jurisdiction (e.g., Malta, Gibraltar, New Zealand, Guernsey); your pot is large enough that the QROPS charges are proportionate; you want pension assets permanently outside the UK tax and inheritance tax regime.

QROPS transfers to countries outside the EEA are subject to the Overseas Transfer Charge of 25% unless one of the exemptions applies. A SIPP avoids this charge entirely.

How Global Investments Can Help

We work with expat clients at every stage of the SIPP process — from initial suitability assessment and provider selection through to transfer management and ongoing investment strategy. Our advisers have direct experience of the documentation requirements, DTA application processes, and provider nuances that make international pension management more complex than domestic arrangements.

For clients weighing SIPP against QROPS, we provide a structured written comparison based on your specific country of residence, pot size, and long-term plans. We do not receive commission from SIPP providers, which means our recommendations are based entirely on suitability. Pension rules, tax relief rates, and DTA provisions change; this guide reflects the position as of mid-2026, and personalised regulated advice is essential before taking any action. Reach out to our team to begin the assessment.