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Share Discover our top-recommended personal pensions and 
4.5out of 5
One of the lowest cost providers for 
4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
4.5out of 5
Low fees, an excellent choice of investment assets for your 
4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
4.5out of 5
Excellent historical performance of default pension portfolio, easy-to-use and easy-to-manage mobile app.
4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
4.5out of 5
Launched by AJ Bell in 2022, Dodl is intended for those who are new to investing and don't want to be overwhelmed with too many choices.
4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
4.0out of 5
Super simple set-up, reasonable fees for a personal pension.
4.0out of 5
Capital at risk.
3.5out of 5
Funds have historically performed well, low fees, large well-established provider.
3.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
4.5out of 5
One of the lowest cost providers for 
Insiders score
More info 4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
Working out fees for ii can feel complicated. There are a few ways to include a 
That makes ii one of the cheapest providers on our list for SIPPs/personal pensions: £71.88 per year for pensions under £50,000, and £155.88 per year for pensions over £50,000. If you have a large pension pot, that's extremely good value.
You will need to factor in dealing costs if you plan to trade, which are a reasonable £3.99 per trade for all UK and US assets, but an expensive £9.99 per trade (plus extremely high 1.5% FX fees on anything less than £25,000) for all other international deals. Of course, if you're a buy-and-hold investor, this won't concern you much.
If you want to add a SIPP to your ii 
interactive investors' ready-made portfolios have also performed very well for those saving within a SIPP as you can see from this table.
Something else that interactive investor does well is interest on uninvested cash. You'll get a healthy 3.04% AER on the first £10,000 you hold within an interactive investor SIPP, and rates increase with the amounts you're holding after that, up to 4.85% AER on cash amounts over £1,000,000. That's slightly more than AJ Bell offers at each amount, and a lot more than you'll get with InvestEngine or Moneybox as they don't pay any interest on uninvested cash you choose to hold within your personal pension/SIPP at all.
Fees
Use this platform if
Investments
3.0
4.0
3.5
4.0
4.0
4.0
For a detailed analysis of Interactive Investor, check out our review for 2024
Read full review
4.5out of 5
Low fees, an excellent choice of investment assets for your 
Insiders score
More info 4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
AJ Bell's 
If you decide to use a ready-made portfolio for your SIPP, AJ Bell offers 16 different options, all suggested as top choices by the AJ Bell investment team. For those who want as little responsibility for investment choices as possible, AJ Bell suggests their AJ Bell Balanced fund. Over the past five years, this has produced 29% returns for investors. That's not spectacular considering Vanguard's recommended fund produced returns of 88.1% over the same period, but it's just one option among many AJ Bell offers so I'd advise checking the Key Investor Information Document (KIID) that every fund should provide, where you'll find past performance data.
On fees, AJ Bell is one of the lowest-priced investment platforms in the UK, although watch out for dealing fees which can add up.
Fees
Custody charges
Annual ongoing charges
Share dealing fees:
Use this if
Investments
4.5
4.5
5.0
4.5
5.0
5.0
For a detailed analysis of AJ Bell, check out our review for 2024
Read full review
4.5out of 5
Excellent historical performance of default pension portfolio, easy-to-use and easy-to-manage mobile app.
Insiders score
More info 4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
With an average return of 80.5% over 5-years on their recommended pension from the BlackRock LifePath range, Moneybox customers can benefit from one of the best performing personal pensions on the UK market. With this choice, your money will be invested differently as you age, with risk levels adjusted to the stage of life you are in. That's sensible, as you'll want to lower the level of risk your savings are exposed to as you close in on your planned retirement age.
There's not a whole lot of choice with Moneybox as this is a person pension and not a 
Platform fees of 0.45% on balances up to £100,000 (reduced to 0.15% on balances over £100,000) plus 0.09% – 0.88% fund provider fees will work out comparatively expensive. But you're getting an easy to set-up and easy-to-manage, high performing provider for your fees, which you might feel makes Moneybox good value for money. Of course, it's essential to remember that past performance does not predict future performance so those great returns are not guaranteed.
Fees
Use this platform if
Investments
3.5
4.0
5.0
3.5
3.5
3.5
Read full review
Read full review
4.5out of 5
Launched by AJ Bell in 2022, Dodl is intended for those who are new to investing and don't want to be overwhelmed with too many choices.
Insiders score
More info 4.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
Dodl is an easy-to-use, no-frills investment app. As it’s been created by AJ Bell, you know you're getting a service that is highly secure and slick, and you get access to AJ Bell's extensive educational materials and competent customer service team.
The ultra-low 0.15% account fee – and zero dealing charges – means this is one of the lowest priced 
For some people, however, Dodl will be too basic and pared back. The choice of assets is very limited – just 80 individual stocks and seven AJ Bell funds are available. If you don’t want too many decisions, then this limited menu of options may well be a pleasant relief, and a contrast to the confusing complexity of other platforms. But if you have ambitions to grow as an investor, and learn to trade using sophisticated tools and strategies, you'll outgrow Dodl.
Fees
Use this platform if
Investments
5.0
4.5
5.0
1.5
5.0
3.5
For a detailed analysis of Dodl, check out our review for 2024
Read full review
4.0out of 5
Super simple set-up, reasonable fees for a personal pension.
Insiders score
More info 4.0out of 5
Capital at risk.
PensionBee makes setting up and saving into a pension as easy as it can possibly be. If you're someone who has been putting off getting a personal pension sorted, then PensionBee could be a good match as it effectively removes all the layers of complication and even makes tracking down and consolidating past workplace pensions a simple task.
The app is a joy to use and customer service is excellent. You won't be frustrated with a lack of communication or help – processes run smoothly and transparently.
PensionBee's pension isn't a 
On performance, our independent research measured the performance of PensionBee's default option – the Tailored plan, managed by BlackRock. Performance isn't terrible (28.5% vs the industry average of 30.5%), but it is below the average and returns aren't as good as those produced by Moneybox, Vanguard and Plum. Remember, of course, that past performance does not guarantee future performance however.
Use this if
Fees
Investments
4.0
5.0
5.0
4.0
4.0
4.0
For a detailed analysis of PensionBee, check out my full review.
Read full review
3.5out of 5
Funds have historically performed well, low fees, large well-established provider.
Insiders score
More info 3.5out of 5
Capital at risk.
Vanguard has won a Which? Recommended Provider accolade for four consecutive years since launching its 
With Vanguard, you only have access to Vanguard's own funds and ETFs – there's no individual stocks and shares to choose here – but there are plenty to choose from including the popular Vanguard Target Retirement Fund range. Our independent research into past performance of those ready-made portfolios that providers recommend, shows that Vanguard’s Target Retirement Fund range does very well against the industry average, producing median average returns of 88.1% over ten years (industry average: 66.8%). Always remember, however that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance and all investing involves risk.
On fees, Vanguard's account fee of 0.15% can reasonably claim to be the lowest of all the major investment providers. However, that doesn't include the fund fees and if you want a managed option, there's an extra fee for that too. A bit of number crunching shows that, while it is still a cheap option for those with smaller portfolios, it is far from the cheapest provider when you have a large pension invested. What's more, it is possible to invest in a Vanguard fund more cheaply through other providers as the Vanguard website isn't the only place you'll find them. Talking of websites, you'll have to be happy managing your account via the web as Vanguard doesn't have a mobile app.
Fees
Use this if
Investments
4.0
3.5
4.0
1.5
2.0
3.0
For a detailed analysis of Vanguard, check out our review for 2024
Read full reviewHow I scored the platforms on this list
All Investing Insiders reviews are conducted using a standardised scorecard. Using a standardised scoring system ensures that every review we undertake is comprehensive and rigorous, and fair – because providers are being judged against the same set of criteria.
Visit our How we review page if you’d like more information on exactly how we go about putting reviews together and how our values shape our editorial policy.
The following table gives an overview of how each platform performs on various different elements:
Some of the providers we feature offer a ‘SIPP' and some offer a ‘personal pension'. On the surface, they look very similar. That's because SIPPs and personal pensions share many characteristics. Both can be invested in financial markets with the aim of producing returns on your investments that allow you to draw an income when you retire and achieve the kind of retirement lifestyle you want.
Both personal pensions and SIPPs qualify for tax relief – 20% if you pay the basic rate of tax. (Higher and additional-rate taxpayers can claim back a further 20% or 25% via the self-assessment process.) For standard rate tax payers, that translates to an extra ‘free' £20 when you contribute £80, taking your total to £100. The tax relief is one of the biggest reasons why pensions are so hard to beat as an investment option.
As both SIPPs and personal pensions involve investing in markets that go down as well as up, both involve risk, including the risk that the value of your pension may fall, instead of rise.
So, what are the differences between the two, then? The main difference between a SIPP and a personal pension is that with a SIPP, you get greater flexibility over your investment options. You'll usually have a larger pool of assets to choose from and more freedom over exactly how your retirement savings are invested and managed. You may be able to pause or lower contributions as you wish, add in lump sums, and buy and sell lots of different kinds of assets. With a personal pension, decisions about how your pension is invested, and how often you can contribute, may be taken on your behalf, or be more tightly controlled.
Which you choose will probably come down to how much flexibility and control over your pension you ultimately want.
When choosing a personal pension or 
You'll find details on each of those factors in the mini reviews we feature on this page, but you'll find them discussed in greater detail in the full reviews for each provider. Before making a final decision, I strongly advise reading the full review.
We've conducted our own, independent research into past 
While this data can be useful in forming opinions on how well funds are managed, it's important to remember that past performance is not a guarantee of future performance, and that investing for retirement should be seen as a long-term endeavour.
As you can see, personal pensions – where some of the work of choosing and managing investments is done for you – are more expensive overall. 
For Interactive Brokers, I used the cheapest third party provider accepted by IBKR (Options UK) for the purposes of this table. Alternative providers recommended by IBKR quoted even higher figures to me. The third party fee is a bit of a sting in the tail if you're investing smaller sums as it's one flat fee for the example we've used. That works out cheap if you have a very large pot to invest, however.
Just because a fund is the cheapest, doesn’t mean it’s the best, or more importantly, the best for you.
The provider needs to offer a solution that works for your current financial circumstances, but it also needs to offer you the best chance of fulfilling your future retirement and financial growth goals. That means weighing up what kinds of assets you can invest in through that provider, how much help they're able to provide if you're new and want some guidance on where to invest, and if you opt for a ready-made investment solution, how those funds have been performing. It's no good finding a cheap 
Equally, just because a fund is expensive, doesn’t necessarily mean you should strike it off your list – if it’s within your budget, of course. Without doubt, some providers are charging more than they ought to be, and we flag those providers up in our reviews. But there are some providers that are expensive but remain good value for money possibly because of the access they provider to a wide range of assets, sophisticated research tools and trading interfaces, or because they offer ease-of-use, a great app, or a top-performing set of funds.
You must weigh up the full picture when choosing a SIPP/personal pension provider. An important part of that will be costs – but it should also include the type of service provided and how that matches your investing skill and knowledge level, the performance of ready-made portfolios if you don't want to choose the make-up of your own portfolio, and how much risk you want to be exposed to.
I strongly advise reading the full review for each provider you are considering before making a final decision. And if you've got questions for our Insiders team, use our ‘Ask the Insiders' feature at the bottom of each review.
Currently, you need to be aged 55 or over to start taking money from your pension. That minimum age rises on 6th April 2028, to 57.
There are no limits to how much you can save into a personal pension, but there are limits to how much you can claim tax relief on. For the 2024/25 tax year, tax relief is capped at either £60,000 or 100% of your earned income (whichever is lower). That limit applies across all the pensions you hold.
Our independent analysis shows that Moneybox and Plum have the best performing ready-made SIPPs over 5 years. We analysed the funds that each provider recommends as a suggestion for those not sure what to pick. Remember – past performance does not guarantee future performance.
* Wondering whether we get paid for writing good things about platforms? Good question! It's how many comparison sites get paid.
The answer is – no, we proudly do things a little differently at Investing Insiders. Our sole criteria is what's best for you – the consumer. So, although we do receive a commission if you choose to click through and open an account from any of our reviews, we will never bend our opinions to suit the requests of providers, or the needs of our bank balance. Bottom line – what you read on this page is what I'd recommend to my family, friends and colleagues, and indeed, what I choose for my own money.
