The venerable small self-administered scheme (SSAS) has been with us as a pensions option for well over 50 years now.

It was the true progenitor of self-investment in the pensions industry, leading the way to more opportunities for business people to save for later life.

Over the years, however, SSAS has become somewhat forgotten, particularly once Sipps exploded onto the scene in 1987. Sipps seized the centre stage of self-investment, though the Sipps of today look very different to those early schemes.

Decades of product development have brought the rise of the investment platform, which, although versatile and holding a vice-like grip on the majority of the Sipp market, doesn’t really encapsulate the true spirit of self-investment.

Many planners, perhaps even most, will have never dealt with a Ssas, let alone recommended its use

The challenge is that, alongside this relentless development of Sipps, the client and adviser demographics have also greatly changed. The old guard of pure advisers is slowly ebbing away and a new generation of planners are taking their place.

Many planners, perhaps even most, will have never dealt with a Ssas, let alone recommended its use.

Is SSAS even relevant in today’s world of financial advice?

Yes, I say, absolutely – perhaps now more than ever.

The entrepreneurial self-investment capability still has a solid place within the advice sector, particularly to meet the practical needs of small and medium-sized enterprises – in other words, business-owning clients, who will be on virtually every planner’s books.

Loanbacks – where the scheme lends up to 50% of the scheme value to the sponsoring employer – are highly attractive to business owners

One of the key roles SSAS can play is the opportunity to associate the client’s business as a sponsoring employer. This unlocks that wonderful SSAS specific feature: the loanback.

Loanbacks – where the scheme lends up to 50% of the scheme value to the sponsoring employer – are highly attractive to business owners. This gives access to low-cost funding that can generate business expansion.

There are, of course, rules, or tests, to ensure these loans are compliant with HM Revenue & Customs stipulations, though these are considerably less onerous than the typical lending process deployed by most institutional lenders.

When Sipps began to rule the roost of self-investment, up until around 2012 with RDR, and most certainly from 2016 onwards with the introduction of provider capital adequacy rules, they were the go-to option for anyone looking at non-retail investment solutions. One of the most popular avenues of that time was investment in private company shares.

SSAS will be around for a long time yet. However, I acknowledge it isn’t as popular as the Sipp and has a much smaller target market

These non-standard investment solutions no longer exist in the Sipp world – we could even regard them as extinct.

With SSAS, however, many non-retail asset classes can still be chosen. Furthermore, even when rare Sipp-based private share investment proposals are available, SSAS and loanback can often combine to offer a robust alternative solution.

All sounds great, right? So, why my concern about SSAS extinction?

I believe SSAS will probably be around for a long time yet. However, I acknowledge it simply isn’t as popular as the Sipp and has a much smaller target market. And so, as those advisers familiar with SSAS head into retirement, it’s vital the next generation understand and embrace the product and its many unique capabilities.

For me, it’s a perception thing – SSAS is indeed a ‘legacy’ product. Many of the new generation of advisers weren’t alive when it came into being. Amazingly, many weren’t even around for the advent of Sipps.

Let’s re-think, embrace and celebrate SSAS and the long future it clearly has ahead of it

Perhaps I am being unfair here, though it does feel at times like some people are conflating the legacy feel and age of SSAS with it being obsolete. Equally likely, it’s the perceived complexity of SSAS that’s an issue, particularly in contrast to the hyper-evolved offshoot of those first Sipps: the platform.

Ultimately, clients using SSAS are taking on a more involved role as trustees, with key decision-making responsibilities. Perhaps this alone creates a fear of things going awry.

Nevertheless, when we truly understand its capabilities, it’s hard to draw any conclusion other than, actually, SSAS is absolutely suitable for a segment of today’s clients. And with client outcomes at the heart of the decision-making process, the right solution should always trump other factors, like inherent bias.

The key for the latest generation of advisers and planners is to ensure they obtain the right support structure from the provider they use for SSAS. This includes receiving technical guidance that removes complexity, along with gaining added confidence when recommending SSAS where suitable for client needs.

So let’s re-think, embrace and celebrate SSAS and the long future it clearly has ahead of it.

Matt Storey is head of business development at @sipp

THOUSANDS of retirees can get a free TV licence, saving them up to £169.50 per year.

Anyone who wants live television including Sky, ITV, and BBC must obtain one.

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The Government is responsible for setting the level of the licence fee.

Last December it was announced that the government would raise the licence fee by 6.7%, in line with inflation, taking effect from April 2024.

This has brought the cost of a colour licence fee to £169.50 per year and a black and white licence fee to £57 per year.

It is illegal to watch live TV without a licence, and you could be fined up to £1,000 if you’re caught.

But if you are claiming the state pension and are aged 75 or over, you could get the licence for free.

That is because anyone in this age bracket can use the service for free if they are claiming pension credit.

If you’re over 75 and not in receipt of pension credit you have to pay for a TV licence, which could be up to £169.50 a year.

You can also get a free licence if your partner claims pension credit but you do not.

To apply for a free TV licence you can visit the following website, https://www.tvlicensing.co.uk/cs/pay-for-your-tv-licence/index.app.

Alternatively, you can call the following number and apply over the phone 0300 790 6071.

But remember, you must be claiming pension credit to get the freebie.

If you are confused about whether or not you claim the payment check one of your bank statements.

You should see an entry with your National Insurance Number followed by the letters “PC”.

What is pension credit?

Pension Credit gives you extra money if you claim the State Pension and are on a low income.

If you live with a partner and you are both of State Pension age, your weekly income must fall below around £350.

However, if your income is slightly higher, you might still be eligible for Pension Credit if you have a disability, you care for someone, you have savings or you have housing costs.

You could get an extra £81.50 a week if you have a disability or claim any of the following:

• Attendance allowance
• The middle or highest rate from the care component of disability living allowance (DLA)
• The daily living component of personal independence payment (PIP)
• Armed forces independence payment
• The daily living component of adult disability payment (ADP) at the standard or enhanced rate.

You could get the “savings credit” part of pension credit if both of the following apply:

• You reached State Pension age before April 6, 2016
• You saved some money for retirement, for example, a personal or workplace pension

This part of Pension Credit is worth £17.01 for single people or £19.04 for couples.

Pension Credit opens the door to other support, including housing benefits, cost of living payments, council tax reductions and the Winter Fuel Payment.

How do you apply?

You can start your application for Pension Credit up to four months before you reach State Pension age.

To apply you’ll need to provide your National Insurance number, information about any income, savings and investments you have, and your bank account details.

If you live with a partner you’ll also need to provide their details.

You can apply online here or by calling 0800 99 1234.

Other ways to get a discounted TV licence

You could be eligible for a discounted TV licence if you live in residential care or sheltered accommodation, or if you’re registered blind.

If you live in sheltered accommodation or residential care and are over 60 or disabled you can get a licence for just £7.50.

If you’re registered blind, or live with someone who is, you’re in line for a 50% discount.

The licence must be in the name of the person registered blind, but if your existing licence is not in their name, you can apply to transfer it.

You can apply for the discount on the TV Licensing website.

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Experts from across the financial service sector have been giving their reaction after the Bank of England cut rates by a quarter of a percentage point to 4.75%.

The Bank’s monetary policy committee (MPC) voted 8:1 in favour of the cut at lunchtime today (7 November), with one member voting for a hold.

It is the second time this year the MPC has opted to slash rates.

Fidelity International associate director Ed Monk, warned households may have to be more patient for borrowing costs to fall over the next year.

“Despite the fact inflation is now comfortably below target at 1.7%, the speed of rate cuts is not expected to be as quick as it was just a few weeks ago,” he said.

“Today’s Monetary Policy Report forecasts another rise in inflation to 2.75% – back above target – over the next year.

“The Budget last week included significant spending and borrowing commitments which have resulted in a moderate increase in market interest rates, and that may also be reflected in the path for the official bank rate over the next year.

“There are some predictions that the Trump victory could result in higher rates in the US, which may then spill over to other markets, including the UK.

“That’s less certain because it is not yet clear what a Trump second term will hold, and this is unlikely to factor into the Bank’s thinking at this stage.”

Monk said that inflation-beating interest on cash will “no doubt” have tempted some investors to move money from investments into savings accounts.

“The good news for those savers is that, despite the rate fall, cash interest is likely to exceed inflation for a while longer,” he added.

“But there are also clear signs that the path for rates – including cash interest – is falling.

“In that context, it may be time to rebalance your allocation of cash versus investments.”

Hymans Robertson Investment Services (HRIS) Chief Investment Officer, William Marshall, said: “If a Budget the size of Labour’s had come out of the blue then we would have expected the Monetary Policy Committee to be more cautious with cutting rates.

“However, given that the Budget was heavily signposted it wasn’t enough to stop today’s rate cut.

“That being said, the extent of the size of the borrowing communicated in the Budget may have slightly surprised the MPC, given that Rachel Reeves hinted that she would not borrow for day-to-day spending (she is).

“The consequence is that we may see a slower pace of rate cuts next year.”

Hargreaves Lansdown head of personal finance, Sarah Coles, said: “The Bank of England has delivered one more cut for the road, before it’s widely expected to shut up shop for a while and wait for the dust to settle.

“This comes as no surprise, after inflation fell below target, services inflation backed off and wage rises slowed.

“However, there’s a growing expectation that we won’t get a December cut.

“The Bank has said for a long time that inflation will rise as the impact of energy price cuts drops out of the figures.

“However, events of recent weeks have raised the risk of additional inflation.

“More borrowing in the Budget, a higher national living wage and rises in employer National Insurance contributions, have raised concerns that inflation could make an unwelcome return.”

THOUSANDS of households are being handed energy saving gadgets to help slash their energy bills by up to £200.

Hard-up residents in one council area in England are being gifted the “Warm Home Packs” this winter.

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The packs come with energy-saving devices in them such as LED light bulbs, radiator foil and draught-excluding tape.

Wandworth Council says the packs could help residents save up to £200 on their energy bills.

The local authority has been distributing the packs since last week but you can still pick yours up if you haven’t got one yet.

The London council recently wrote letters to eligible residents and invited them to pick up their packs at the town hall.

Those who have received a letter but haven’t collected their packs yet can pick them up from four locations.

These are: Wandsworth Town Hall Reception, Battersea Library, Tooting Library and Roehampton Library.

You should qualify for one of the packs if your household has a combined annual income of up to £40,000 and an Energy Performance Certificate (EPC) rating between D and G.

An EPC is a report which reveals how energy efficient your property is and can be booked via the Government’s website.

You can also find out what the EPC of your home via gov.uk.

If you haven’t received a letter from Wandsworth Council and think you are eligible for a Warm Home Pack, you should speak to staff at one of the four collection hubs mentioned above.

Cllr Judi Gasser, cabinet member for environment, said: “We know that warm homes and sustainability come hand in hand.

“These Warm Home Packs play the vital double role of keeping more money in our residents’ pockets this winter, as well as reducing the carbon footprint of individual homes by capturing energy that would otherwise be lost.”

Help you can get with energy bills if you don’t live in Wandsworth

Residents who live outside Wandsworth might be able to get help with their energy bills through a number of avenues.

Household Support Fund

You may qualify for energy vouchers, or free money which can be put towards energy bills via the Household Support Fund.

The giant £421million pot of cash has been shared between councils in England who are in the process of allocating their portion.

Each local authority sets its own eligibility criteria which means what you are entitled to will depend on where you live.

However, most councils are making direct bank transfers or handing out energy or supermarket vouchers to those who are on a low income, benefits or vulnerable.

The best thing to do if you think you might be eligible for help is contact your local council.

You can find what council area you fall under by using the Government’s “find your local council” tool via gov.uk.

Energy Company Obligation

You might be able to get help paying for insulation or a new more energy-efficient boiler, which in turn will drive down your energy bills, through the Energy Company Obligation.

You might even be able to get them for free depending on your circumstances.

It’s worth noting though that you are only eligible for ECO if you are on benefits, classed as vulnerable or have a home with a low EPC.

Bear in mind, help is offered on a case-by-case basis and you may have to fund part of the works done to your home.

Energy company grant schemes

A number of energy companies hand out grants to customers who are struggling to keep up with their energy bills.

For example, British Gas recently opened its Energy Support Fund offering cash-strapped families up to £2,000 in free money.

Octopus Energy also offers direct cash grants to customers struggling to cover the cost of their bills via its Octo Assist fund.

The firm also carries out home visits to discuss how households can reduce their usage and gives out free electric blankets.

You can read more on what some of the other firms do in our piece here.

Do you have a money problem that needs sorting? Get in touch by emailing money-sm@news.co.uk.

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