Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP charges and fees explained

Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP fees: HL’s own pricing page shows an account charge of up to 0.35% a year plus dealing charges. Here is each one, with the sums.

HL’s SIPP page says an HL SIPP is “Free to open, with an account charge of no more than 0.35% for holding investments.” That is the headline; the detail is in tiers, a cap and a separate list of dealing charges. Every charge below is as HL’s pages read on 19 October 2026; where we add up a pot or a year, the working is shown and uses only those published figures. For a free, impartial talk through your choices, Pension Wise is the government-backed guidance service, open to anyone 50 or over with a UK personal or workplace pension. Should you want these charges weighed with the rest of your retirement money, sending the free form on this page leads to a phone conversation with an FCA-authorised adviser.

What HL says a SIPP costs

On HL’s charges page, the account charge is a yearly percentage of what you hold, billed in monthly instalments and taken automatically, “based on the total value of your investments from the previous month.” Opening costs nothing, and the SIPP page adds “No charge to buy investments”. In summary, four things can reach your bill:

• the account charge, which differs for funds and for shares;
• dealing charges on one-off trades;
• the fund manager’s own charges, which HL does not set;
• taxes and levies on some share purchases.

Cash is treated differently: “It’s free to hold uninvested cash.” What the cash earns is covered in SIPP interest on cash.

The account charge on funds, in tiers

For funds, including long-term asset funds (LTAFs), the table is tiered by the value of funds held:

The tiers work like income tax bands: each slice of the pot is charged at its own rate. HL’s own example is “£300,000 invested in funds, the first £250,000 will be charged at 0.35%, and the additional £50,000 will be charged at 0.25%.” Our working on those figures:

• £250,000 × 0.35% = £875 a year
• £50,000 × 0.25% = £125 a year
• Total £1,000 a year, or £1,000 ÷ 12 = £83.33 a month. As a share of £300,000 that is about 0.33%.

A fund holding of £250,000 or less sits wholly in the first tier. Tiers also apply “to each account separately, rather than across all your HL accounts combined.” The example given is £200,000 of funds in a SIPP and £200,000 in a Fund and Share Account; both sit in the first tier, “even though your combined fund holdings total £400,000.”

The account charge on shares, ETFs and similar

Shares and other equities, which HL’s table lists as ETFs, investment trusts, bonds, gilts and VCTs, are charged at a flat rate with a ceiling: “0.35% (capped at £12.50 per month)” at any value. The table’s own example: “if you hold £10,000 in shares, your average monthly charge would be £2.92.” Our working on where the cap starts to matter:

• The cap of £12.50 × 12 = £150 a year. £150 ÷ 0.35% = about £42,857, so the cap starts to apply above roughly that amount in shares.
• At £100,000 in shares the charge stays at £150 a year, which is 0.15% of £100,000.

The fund rows carry no cap, so £100,000 in funds works out at £100,000 × 0.35% = £350 a year against £150 for the same amount in shares. What to hold is a choice about investments, not only cost.

A worked example for a mixed account on the same page holds “£20,000 in funds”, “£10,000 in shares and ETFs” and “£650 in cash”, with a “Total account charge this month: £8.75”; the cash adds nothing.

Dealing charges

In HL’s words, “Dealing charges are what you pay each time you buy or sell an investment.” Its online figures:

Trading by phone or post is different: “It’s £29 per trade to invest via phone or post.” Extra charges apply to buying overseas shares. Dividends or fund income reinvested automatically once income reaches “£10 per holding” (or an amount you choose) are not charged for.

The charges page’s dealing example is one fund trade and one share trade in a month, “alongside your regular monthly investments”: £1.95 + £6.95 = £8.90. Someone who invests only by monthly Direct Debit pays the account charge but no dealing charges.

The sums above apply the published figures to example pots; they are not a forecast. Tax and any other pensions you hold sit outside these tables. To go through them together with these charges, an FCA-authorised adviser can ring you once you have sent the free form on this page.

Drawdown, transfers and leaving

HL’s drawdown page says “Take income your way, with no withdrawal fees”, and the drawdown charges page repeats the account-charge tiers, the cap and the dealing table above unchanged. You can also “Adjust your drawdown income withdrawals whenever you want, without charge”. Money left in drawdown stays invested, so the account charge, dealing charges and fund charges carry on. Drawdown itself is explained in how pension drawdown works, and other platforms’ terms are compared in best pension drawdown providers.

On moving a pension in, the transfer page says: “We don’t charge anything when you transfer your accounts to us, and you won’t pay set up fees. Your current provider may charge exit fees, so check this first.” Going the other way: “There are no charges to transfer your HL SIPP as cash or stock, and no fee to close your account. However, dealing charges may apply if we need to sell your investments.” Selling means being out of the market while the transfer completes, and the charges page confirms there are no exit fees for leaving the platform. Steps and the rules on exit charges are in how to transfer a pension and pension transfer fees. If you later want a guaranteed income instead, see Hargreaves Lansdown annuity rates, which covers HL’s separate annuity service.

Costs outside HL’s own charges

• Fund charges. HL says the investments you choose “may have their own charges, for example charges from a particular fund manager. These are in addition to our account charges.” They are in each fund’s key investor information document, and it negotiates discounts on them for more than 500 funds. Pension charges and fees explains how fund charges and platform charges combine.
• Ready-Made Pension Plan. For the managed option, the plan page says “HL will benefit from the fund management charge, as well as the HL account charge.” So both apply; check the plan fund’s charge in its key investor information document.
• Stamp duty and levies. The charges page lists a 0.5% government stamp duty charge on buying UK-listed shares, and a flat £1.50 PTM levy on buying or selling over £10,000 of UK shares.

Charges are only part of the picture: HL’s SIPP page warns that investments can go down in value as well as up, and you may get back less than you put in. See what a SIPP is and, for how the SIPP compares in other respects, is the Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP any good. To set out another firm’s figures in the same way, read Interactive Investor SIPP fees, Fidelity SIPP fees or Vanguard SIPP fees.

Hargreaves Lansdown SIPP fees: questions people ask

How much does Hargreaves Lansdown charge for a SIPP?

HL’s pages say opening is free and the account charge is no more than 0.35% a year, billed monthly. Funds are tiered, shares are 0.35% capped at £12.50 a month, and dealing charges apply to one-off trades.

Is there an HL SIPP charges calculator?

HL’s page has worked examples under “See how our charges are calculated”, and the sums on this page follow the same method. For your own pot, multiply each slice by its rate, apply the share cap, divide by 12 and add the dealing charges for the trades you expect.

Does HL charge to take drawdown?

Its drawdown page says there are “no withdrawal fees”. The account charge on the invested pot still applies, as do dealing and fund charges.

Do I pay HL fees if I invest monthly?

Regular monthly investing by Direct Debit carries no dealing charge on the dealing table. The account charge still applies to what you hold.

Your next step

HL’s tables are a starting point for working out what your own pot would cost. Pension Wise can talk through your options for free; for a conversation covering charges, tax and old pots at once, the form on this page needs only brief details, costs nothing, and ends with an FCA-authorised adviser phoning you.

Sources, all Hargreaves Lansdown pages read 19 October 2026: SIPP charges and interest rates; SIPP; pension drawdown and drawdown charges; transfer a pension to the HL SIPP; Ready-Made Pension Plan. HL can change its charges at any time; check its live page before relying on any figure.