For more than twenty-five years the Small Self-Administered Scheme (SSAS) has been the arrangement that has been the preferred choice for directors of family and other privately owned companies to accumulate retirement funds.

Many directors commence providing for a pension through insured pension arrangements but switch to SSAS to gain greater control over their pension fund and more investment flexibility together with a cost effective charging structure.

In addition to all the tax benefits of occupational pension schemes, SSAS arrangements avoid the deficiencies of insured schemes and provide the following key benefits:

• Members are appointed trustees and therefore have control of the scheme assets.
• Members can use their existing pension funds and future contributions along with those of others to invest, particularly in property.
• Commercial property can be bought and leased back to the business or to a third party as an investment.
• Property owned by the company establishing the SSAS or by the members, can be acquired by the trustees.
• The freedom to borrow to assist in investment including acquiring commercial property.
• Loans can be made to the employer for business purposes.
• Costs are explicit and generally less than insured arrangements.
• Total flexibility as to when contributions are made and, subject to limits on tax relief, how much.
• Greater flexibility as to how and when benefits are taken without the penalties that can be imposed by an insurer.

The additional options from A DAY, 6th April 2006, have made SSAS even more attractive. Taylor Patterson's new SSAS deed takes advantage of these new regulations including the facility to make family members, who are not employees of the company establishing the scheme, members of the SSAS. This together with the wider choice in the ways in which benefits can be taken and the fact that it is no longer a requirement to buy an annuity at age 75 makes it the ideal Family Pension Fund.

SSAS can now offer a range of pension options including Scheme Pensions and it may be possible to reallocate funds among scheme member to mitigate the tax charge that that will be payable on the death of a member after age 75.

Because of these attractions, Taylor Patterson believes SSAS will remain a cornerstone of wealth management for directors of privately owned companies and their families.