HelpPlacing money

SIPP in-specie transfer

How to request a SIPP in-specie transfer

Before you start: Load profile

First load the client profile from the summary page. If this is a new client please create a new client profile. If your client does not hold a Wrap SIPP, please select 'new product' from your client’s summary page.

For clients who already hold a Wrap SIPP, 

  • Select the three dots next to the Wrap SIPP.
  • Select “single payment".
  • This will open the Wrap SIPP wizard and you will be on step 1 of a 7-step wizard.

Step 1: Pension Transfers to Wrap

For Defined Contribution Pensions to be transferred to Wrap SIPP: 

  1. Select the existing pension to be transferred in from the options of SIPP, SSAS or other. 
  2. Select the Transfer Type – Cash or in-specie. This process discusses ‘in-specie’ transfers so if you have selected ‘Cash’ please go to the help page on SIPP Cash transfer.
  3. Add the plan number, provider name and add the platform eligible assets that are being transferred to the Wrap SIPP.  This will work out a total for the value of those holdings. 
  4. If this is lower than the value of the ceding pension transfer, remember that this will not include any off-platform investments or any additional cash that we will request when processing the request.
  5. For SIPP in-specie requests the team do not need to know on the wizard the split between pre and post pension, so please key as pre-pension (not in drawdown).
  6. Add in if there is a Pension Sharing Order on the transfer. (If there is the wizard will ask you if the Pension was 'in payment', and if it was in payment, you will be alerted that no further Tax-Free Lump Sum (TFLS) can be paid.  

Required Documentation:

  • We will need an asset list / valuation showing how the ceding plan is currently invested, including any fund ISIN / SEDOL codes and the number of units held. This asset list should show which assets are to be sold and which are to be transferred in-specie.
  • For off-platform investments, please include the brochure / documentation to enable our asset acceptability team to carry out the required due diligence.   Please also include the ceding scheme discharge form / paperwork required by them to transfer the client to abrdn. 

    Step 2: Tax Wrapper Allocation

    This step will allow you to see the transferred amount pulling through as an “Existing Tax Wrapper to be Transferred” along with giving the option of adding single or regular payments on the same wizard. 

    Step 3: Adviser Charging

    • You can add a percentage or monetary amount for Initial Adviser Charge, and you can nominate whether this will be paid from SIPP Cash or Wrap Cash (Cash Account). 
    • You can add percentage or monetary amount for annual Ongoing Adviser Charge and nominate whether this will be paid from SIPP Cash or Wrap Cash (Cash Account). This will be paid from the anniversary of the plan start date based on the chosen frequency of payment. 
    • For Initial and Ongoing Adviser Charges, the default is to pay the charges from SIPP cash. There is a tick box to indicate that these are to be paid from Wrap Cash (Cash Account).

    Step 4: Investment Selection

    For SIPP in-specie transfers, this selection will not be used to invest the cash that is received once the transfer has completed. Any buy deals need to be entered once we have confirmed the transfer is complete.   You can use the investment selection to show as 100% cash. 

    Step 5: Wrapper Details

    1. Here you add some specific points about the new pension, starting with the Retirement date, if the client is eligible to take drawdown. This is not the date that the client moves from Pre to Post pension, but a date in the future that the client will move to purchase an annuity.
      • To be able to run quotes on the SIPP this will need to be at least a year in the future, usually age 75 is used. 
    2. Here you can also add Concurrency information and it is essential to say 'Yes' to drawdown if the client is already in drawdown or wants to move into drawdown upon receipt of the transfer.  
    3. Finally, the Source of Wealth and the client’s Employment Status can be selected from the dropdown menu. 

    Step 6: SIPP Drawdown Details

    In this step, if you said 'yes' to drawdown and the client is eligible, you can confirm if the client wants to take Full, Phased or Tailored Drawdown on receipt of the transfer.
    Please see the notes on the page and choose the options appropriate to the client's requirements.

    You will find options to take Drawdown Price Lock and you can select if the client wants to take income. This page has a section on Drawdown Price Lock and Wrap SIPP drawdown in general.

    The next stage is the ‘Adviser Declaration' before moving to the final step.

    Step 7: Validate and Execute

    Here you can run quotes and documents before submitting the wizard.

    Once your client has signed the documents, please upload the documents to the client's document library, and e-mail either:

    If we do not receive an email from you informing us that the documents have been uploaded then we will not be able to progress with the transfer.

    Please consider that the ceding scheme may need original signed discharge forms. Please check if the client's pension provider will need these when making the application.

    Some providers require the original signed documents so best practice is to also post the signed paperwork to us at the following address to prevent any delays:


    abrdn Client Servicing 
    Sunderland 
    SR43 4EE 

    Important points to note

    • We endeavour to complete the transfer timely and where possible we will ask that the assets transfer electronically however some Fund Managers / External Asset Providers only deal with paper stock transfer forms (STFs), in these instances this manual intervention adds to transfer timescales.
    • Once all assets have moved across, we will confirm that they are in our custody and request the ceding scheme forward remaining cash and issue a pension transfer statement to confirm the transfer has completed alongside any relevant drawdown information plus confirmation the pension plan is not subject to any court orders (pension sharing / ear marking etc.) 
    • The plan cannot be made live until we have all the assets, the residual cash and the pension transfer statement from the ceding scheme.

    Cash:

    • Any cash received as part of the in-specie transfer will be credited to the client’s SIPP Bank Account upon full completion of the transfer. We will not automatically purchase investments.
    • Please note that we will contact you by either telephone or email to confirm that cash has been applied and any required investment must be made by yourselves.
    • If you wish to invest the cash held in the SIPP Bank Account, please do so manually on total client view > Summary using the three dots next to the SIPP and select the Buy option.

    Suspended funds:

    • As these are not open you will not be able add these to your
      in-specie expectation on the Wrap platform.
    • Please include the full fund name, ISIN or SEDOL code and units held in the documentation you send to us. We will arrange to have these added to the Wrap platform if they are acceptable and can be transferred to the Wrap SIPP.
    • As the suspended funds are currently opened twice weekly this may cause a short delay in your request whilst they are added to the platform.

    Policy Documents:

    • These will be issued when the transfer is complete. If the transfer consists of multiple tranches, you will receive a policy document for each tranche.
    • Please note that all ongoing adviser charges will commence on completion of the in-specie transfer. We will send you an e-mail to confirm when all assets and cash have been received.