Difficulty: Moderately Challenging
Step1
Make a full assessment of your personal finances before committing to a SIPP or any other type of financial investment.
Step2
Read about SIPPs in detail and ask friends or colleagues who may have this type of investment how it works for them. Online money websites and community message boards may also prove handy for finding tips to save money on set-up fees.
Step3
Spend time comparing other pension schemes that are available to you. A SIPP is attractive because it allows you to maintain an element of control over your money, but it could prove expensive. Set-up fees are more than those for conventional pensions.
Step4
Members may make choices about what assets are bought, leased or sold, and decide when those assets are acquired or disposed of, subject to the agreement of the SIPP trustees (usually the SIPP provider). Care should be taken when selecting a SIPP provider that they will permit whatever the investor wants to invest in to be used.
Step5
A SIPP must be set up with a recognised provider and professional trustee. The paperwork may be more extensive than an ordinary personal pension or stakeholder pension plan because each SIPP is unique to the individual. Although a number of packaged plans have become available to streamline the set up and running process, it is worth considering if you have the patience to set up a SIPP.
Step6
Consider how the specific conditions of SIPPs may affect you. For example, with SIPPs you are not able to draw your pension until you reach 55.
Step7
Ask yourself what the limitations of SIPPs are. The permitted range of investments for SIPPs include stocks and shares on the world's major stock exchanges (and a few of the minor ones too) investment trusts, unit trusts, OEICS, gilts and even commercial property.
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Novice 
