Contributions can be made by Direct Debit, or on occasion, by cheque.

Making contributions by Direct Debit
Direct Debits are customers' authorities for beneficiaries to claim payments (variable in amount and frequency) from the customers accounts, and the customers' instructions to their bank to allow the taking of these payments. Amongst various benefits, including the ability to easily change payment amounts and frequency, is the Direct Debit guarantee: in the event of a dispute over an erroneous payment, the recipient will return the amount to the payer until the dispute is resolved.

Making a contribution by cheque
Cheques can be used for ad hoc contributions. Those for the Suffolk Life MasterSIPP should be made payable to ‘Suffolk Life Trustees Limited re: [clients name]’. Cheques for the Suffolk Life SIPP should be made payable to 'Suffolk Life Annuities Limited re: [client’s name]'. They should usually be drawn on a personal account in your client’s name or a joint account of your client with another party.

Cheques from third parties must come with an identity verification certificate for the person or company on whose account the cheque is drawn. If the third party company is a member of a professional body such as the Law Society, Institute of Chartered Accountants or they are a firm regulated by the Financial Services Authority no identity verification certificate is necessary.

Please allow 5 working days for cheques to clear.

Requirements for employer contributions
If your client’s employer intends to make regular contributions to the SIPP, they need to complete a record of payments due and a Direct Debit Instruction, (available from the website and included in the application form). This is not necessary for ad hoc payments. The employer is also obliged by the Pensions Regulator to provider a ‘new record of payments due’ for any amendments.

The identity of any employer making contributions must be verified. For more details including the relevant forms, please see here.