A HM Revenue and Customs approved personal pension scheme designed for investors who want flexibility and control over their investment strategy, including the asset classes in which their pension fund is invested.

Pension Wise is the government’s free, impartial pension guidance service, created to help you understand your retirement options. Visit www.pensionwise.gov.uk or call 0800 138 3944 to find out more.

Normally you can pay as much into your pension as you earn each year, up to a maximum of £40,000. This is known as your annual allowance. Transferring pensions between providers doesn't use up your annual allowance. The usual £40,000 annual allowance is cut for people with annual income of more than £150,000. The allowance reduces by £1 for every £2 of income above £150,000, down to a minimum of £10,000 for those with income of more than £210,000. Non-taxpayers and children can also make pension contributions of up to £2,880 a year (making £3,600 with basic-rate tax relief).

The lifetime allowance is a limit to the amount you can save in your SIPP or other pension over your lifetime. The allowance is currently £1.055 million – you will pay tax on any pension savings you make in excess of this. The excess is taxed at 25% (plus Income Tax) as income or 55% as a lump sum.

Pension carry forward rules let you make contributions above your annual allowance. If you paid in less than your annual allowance in any of the past three tax years you can carry forward the unused allowance, as long as you had a SIPP or other pension in place for each of the three years and your total contributions don’t exceed your current earnings.

• A SIPP puts you in control – always know where your money is invested and how it's performing

• A SIPP provides generous tax benefits on the contributions you make to the account as SIPP plans are free from Capital Gains Tax (CGT) and Income tax

• You cannot withdraw money from your SIPP until the age of 55, however you can normally take up to 25% of your SIPP as a tax free lump sum from this time

• SIPP funds can often pass to your spouse free from inheritance tax should you die before taking the benefits

Tax treatment depends on individual circumstances and is subject to change.

Investments in SIPPs grow free from Income Tax and Capital Gains Tax. You also get tax relief on your pension contributions. Any money you invest in your SIPP will be topped up by 20% by the taxman, and higher or additional-rate taxpayers can claim back a further 20% or 25% respectively. Tax relief is limited by your annual earnings and the pension annual allowance.

Tax relief on pension contributions

Here we show you how three investors paying different Income Tax rates get tax relief on a £12,500 contribution into a SIPP or other pension:

Children and people who don’t pay tax can also make pension contributions of up to £2,880 a year. With basic-rate tax relief this will make a total contribution of £3,600 a year into the SIPP or other pension.

• Gain exposure to the senior secured and high yield bond market with your SIPP

• Pension funds are the largest investor base in the senior secured and high yield market highlighting the attractiveness of the asset class for self-investing pension investors

It may still be possible to open a WiseAlpha SIPP investment with that SIPP provider however we will need to contact your SIPP provider to approve them and vice versa. Please email investing@wisealpha.com and we will be happy to talk with them.

Yes, you can have more than one SIPP. This means you can also open a SIPP with one of our approved SIPP trustees. You can also switch from your current SIPP to one of our approved SIPP trustees.