In this report we talked to Gareth Bertram, director at The Landlord’s Pension, which has helped many individuals to take control of pension pots and grow these funds in both hands-on and hands-off ways, particularly in property based investments.

Bertram opens: “Many people are aware of SIPPs (Self-Invested Personal Pensions). SIPPs provide you with a much broader set of investments than a traditional pension. Investors have authority over every aspect of their pension yet receive all the same tax benefits. You can invest directly in high yielding property, for example, something you cannot do with a traditional pension.

“Fewer people, perhaps, are aware of SSASs or Small Self-Administered Schemes. These director-led pension schemes have actually been around for 40 years, but are less common as company directors have very often set up traditional pensions which do not offer the same benefits as SSAS pensions.”

So, it follows that the first step towards making your pension funds available for a property investment is to set up a SIPP or a SSAS. Bertram explains the advantage of doing this as a SSAS where possible: “A SSAS pension benefits from all the traditional tax breaks, contribution limits and investment options, but also offers much more.