Advice is optional for most money decisions, but LV=’s SIPP papers keep referring you to a financial adviser, and LV=’s own advice starts from £995.

If you are weighing up an LV= SIPP adviser, start with what LV= sells today. Its pensions pages show one SIPP, the LV= SIPP (Flexible Transitions Account), and they steer you towards LV= advisers. Free guidance from Pension Wise is a separate route, covered below. A form on this page takes your contact details; an FCA-authorised adviser then phones, free of charge, to look over your pensions and judge whether an LV= plan deserves a place on your shortlist.

Is the LV= SIPP only available through an adviser?

LV=’s SIPP page invites you to “have a commitment-free chat with one of our expert advisers” and links the plan’s key features. Those key features (print reference 47675-2025 01/26) say: “If you are unsure whether this pension plan is suitable for you then we strongly recommend that you speak to a financial adviser.” The charges section covers “the fees of any professional advisers that you choose to use”, and the plan lets you decide how much of the investing you leave to a professional adviser. Elsewhere the document is written around your financial adviser: anyone with a higher lump sum allowance is asked to “let your financial adviser know before you apply for this plan”, and “Your financial adviser will give you details about the cost of providing advice.”

Whether LV= opens this SIPP to customers with no adviser involved is a question the adviser who rings you after the form can answer without charge.

On 2 November 2026 the LV= pensions page featured two products: the LV= SIPP and the LV= Fixed Term Annuity (Protected Retirement Plan). Annuities are a different decision from a SIPP, and equity release has its own page at LV= equity release.

What does the LV= SIPP involve?

The plan is for UK residents under 85, other than anyone classed as a US Person for US tax purposes. The minimum single contribution is “£30,000”, with a regular minimum of £250 a month or £3,000 a year, and the minimum transfer in at the start is also £30,000. For drawdown, “Our minimum plan value for drawdown pension is £30,000 after any tax-free lump sum has been taken.” Options include LV= funds, the Aegon and Funds Supermarket platforms, a wider self-invested range and discretionary fund managers, whose minimums vary by manager but are “typically between £100,000 and £200,000”.

Investments carry risk: the key features say “Many of the investment choices available to you, such as stocks and shares, will rise and fall in value.” The key features add: “This means that the value may fall to less than the amount that you’ve invested.” For the basics, see how a SIPP works and how pension drawdown works.

How does LV=’s advice process work?

  1. Phone LV= or ask for a call back through its pensions pages. LV= says your first consultation is free.
  2. LV= describes a second stage where it researches products, then explains a written report to you. LV= says it offers pension and annuity products from across the market, and investment products mainly from its own group, so the report need not recommend the LV= SIPP.
  3. If you agree, it sets up the products. Your personal illustration shows the charges that apply when the plan starts.

Compare your options before saying yes. A transfer from a defined benefit pension has its own advice rule, explained in when advice is required before a transfer.

What does a pension adviser do, and what do they charge?

MoneyHelper says a regulated adviser starts with a fact-find on your money, goals, family and attitude to investment risk, then sends a written report. Charging can follow the clock, a set price for a one-off piece of work, or a share of what you hold; and “You must be told how much the advice will cost before you commit.” A regulated adviser can give you a free initial meeting to discuss your needs.

For LV=’s own service, the fee is normally due only after you have been through the report and chosen to go ahead. LV= says its advice “starts from as little as £995”, that it can usually take the fee from your pension, and that in some specific cases there is an upfront fee. The key features add that an adviser charge may come on top of the plan’s own charges: “Adviser charges may be paid out of your plan, or you may agree to pay your adviser a fee directly.”

Fees and what they buy are compared in how much pension advice costs and whether advisers are worth it. With your pots in front of them, an adviser can weigh up LV= fees against other routes, and the ring-back you get after sending the page’s form costs nothing, whichever route you pick.

SIPP financial advice without an adviser: your other options

MoneyHelper says: “With some financial products, getting financial advice first is mandatory. But for most things, financial advice is optional and can be costly, so you’ll need to weigh up if it’s right for you.” The free alternatives are guidance, not advice:

  • Pension Wise, whose free appointment “explains the options for taking money from your defined contribution pension”, for people aged 50 or over holding a UK-based pension of the defined contribution type, plus some younger people in set circumstances. See what Pension Wise is.
  • MoneyHelper’s pension specialists, who give free guidance if you are not eligible for Pension Wise. More in free pension help.
  • LV=’s annuity service, which LV= says is for people who have decided on an annuity and do not want advice.

You can also open a SIPP with another provider that sells directly, which is a different product with its own charges. Examples are in AJ Bell SIPP advice, Fidelity SIPP advice and Hargreaves Lansdown advice, and personal pension vs SIPP compares the types.

How do you choose and check an adviser?

MoneyHelper advises choosing a firm the Financial Conduct Authority regulates, and confirming it on the FCA’s Financial Services Register. It lists several adviser directories, among them one run by the Society of Later Life Advisers. It also warns against acting on an unexpected call, email or text. Read how to find a regulated pension adviser and how pension scams work first.

Torn between LV=, another SIPP and no SIPP at all? Send your contact details in the form here, then an adviser phones to talk through each choice.

Questions people ask about SIPP advice

Where can I get SIPP help for nothing?

Guidance costs nothing, while regulated advice can be costly. Pension Wise and MoneyHelper give free guidance. LV= says its initial consultation and, in most cases, its advice report are free.

Do I need a financial advisor to manage my SIPP?

The LV= SIPP lets you choose how much involvement you want in investment decisions and how much you leave to a professional adviser. Taking advice is a choice you weigh against its cost.

Can someone else run the investments in my LV= SIPP?

In the LV= SIPP the key features describe discretionary fund managers who invest for you, and they say further information is available from your financial adviser. Their minimums are typically between £100,000 and £200,000.

Can the adviser’s fee come out of the SIPP?

The key features say adviser charges may be paid out of the plan or paid to the adviser directly. Ask which applies before you agree.

Can I move an existing pension into the LV= SIPP?

The key features say transfers can come from another UK registered pension scheme, with “£30,000” the minimum when the plan starts. They also warn the plan may carry “greater investment risks than your existing pension”, so compare before you move.