Vanguard SIPP fees come in two layers: an account fee of £4 a month below £32,000 invested, then 0.15% a year up to £375, and each fund's own costs.
The SIPP is sold as the Vanguard Personal Pension. One account fee covers all your self-managed Vanguard accounts, so a self-managed ISA and pension are charged once, not twice. Where a Vanguard document carries a date, the date is given with its figures; the web pages carry none and were read on 19 October 2026. MoneyHelper's Pension Wise service gives free, impartial guidance, backed by government, on the choices for taking money out. Should you want these costs set against your own pot and plans, there is a form on this page: send it and an FCA-authorised adviser firm calls you back, without charge.
The account fee, and where it stops
Vanguard's self-managed costs and charges document, dated 20 August 2026, names two main costs: fund management costs and an account fee. The account fee is worked out on the total invested across your Vanguard accounts, leaving cash out, so money waiting uninvested in the pension does not count towards it. The bands are:
| Invested balance | Account fee |
|---|---|
| Under £32,000 | £4 a month (£48 a year) |
| £32,000 and over | 0.15% a year, with a maximum of £375 a year |
If the balance moves between the two levels during a quarter, the fee is based on the average balance for that period. It is collected every three months, by Direct Debit if you set one up; otherwise it comes from cash in your accounts and, failing that, from selling fund holdings. With an ISA and a pension both self-managed, the one fee is split between them in proportion to what each holds invested.
The £375 maximum is a limit on the account fee only. It does not touch fund charges, which come next.
Fund charges, taken inside the fund
Vanguard's fees page (Personal Pension tab) gives a fund management cost range of 0.06% to 0.79% and says these costs are "automatically taken from the fund" and show up in the return rather than as a separate charge. The costs and charges document, with ongoing costs as at 30 June 2026, splits them into parts:
- Ongoing costs, which include the ongoing charges figure paid to Vanguard for managing the fund.
- Transaction costs, the cost of buying and selling the fund's own holdings, which "are not paid to Vanguard" but come out of the fund price. The document's transaction data is as at 31 December 2025, and a figure can be negative.
- One-off costs, a bid-offer spread on Vanguard ETFs. The document says Vanguard mutual funds do not currently incur them.
It also says Vanguard funds have no incidental costs, such as performance fees, at present. Four rows from the document show how far apart funds can sit:
| Fund | Ongoing | Transaction |
|---|---|---|
| LifeStrategy 60% Equity Fund | 0.20% | 0.04% |
| Target Retirement 2035 Fund | 0.24% | 0.04% |
| FTSE Global All Cap Index Fund | 0.23% | 0.06% |
| Global Emerging Markets Fund | 0.78% | 0.35% |
Buying or selling an ETF through the optional quote and deal service costs "a fixed charge of £7.50"; the document says that fee is waived on its twice-daily ETF batch dealing. The fund range itself is covered in Vanguard SIPP fund options.
Our working: what the rules add up to
These sums are ours, applying Vanguard's published rule to round pot sizes, with all the money invested and none in cash. They are not a quote.
| Invested | Account fee a year | Working |
|---|---|---|
| £20,000 | £48 | £4 x 12 |
| £32,000 | £48 | 0.15% x £32,000 |
| £100,000 | £150 | 0.15% x £100,000 |
| £250,000 | £375 | 0.15% x £250,000 |
| £400,000 | £375 | 0.15% would be £600, so the cap applies |
The fee is the same £48 either side of the £32,000 line, so there is no jump at the boundary. The cap is reached at £250,000.
Fund charges come on top. A £50,000 pension held entirely in the LifeStrategy 60% fund would carry an account fee of £75 (0.15% x £50,000), ongoing costs of £100 (0.20%) and transaction costs of £20 (0.04%), which is £195 using the document's rates. One active fund shows the other end: on £10,000 in the Global Emerging Markets Fund, ongoing costs of 0.78% are £78 and transaction costs of 0.35% are £35.
Investments can go down in value as well as up and you could get back less than you invest, whatever the charges.
What drawing on the pension costs
Vanguard's transfer page says "we do not charge a fee when you want to start using your pension savings". There is no minimum withdrawal either, so tax-free cash can be taken in several smaller pieces, and withdrawing money and closing your account both sit on the fees page's list of things with no charge. What continues is the account fee and fund charges on whatever stays invested.
One charge does apply to how money is paid: a CHAPS payment made at your request costs £25 per payment, in both the pension's key features (November 2025) and the client terms (August 2026), so it is worth confirming the current figure before asking for one. How drawdown works generally is in pension drawdown, and providers are set side by side in choosing a drawdown provider.
A pot that must last years has fees running through all of them, so the pot size, the funds and how much comes out each year all feed the total. Not sure how that lands on your own pension? An FCA-authorised adviser firm will ring to talk it through if you outline your pot through the form on this page.
Transfers to and from Vanguard
Coming in, Vanguard's transfer page says "we do not charge a fee for transfers", though your existing provider might, so its exit fees are worth checking, along with whether any guaranteed benefits would be lost by leaving. Non-Vanguard funds are sold by the old provider and arrive as cash, and the money is out of the market for part of the process, which can take "as little as 10 working days or as long as 10 weeks or more". Pensions in capped drawdown are not currently accepted, and a drawdown pension must come across whole, into the self-managed service.
Going out, the fees page lists transferring out as a no-charge item. Under the client terms, a move of Vanguard funds as they stand is normally arranged through the new provider and takes the whole holding in each fund, and before a full transfer out Vanguard takes any fees built up, which "may involve selling down" funds. The November 2025 key features document allows a partial transfer of pre-retirement funds only if at least £10,000 stays behind, and does not allow a partial transfer of funds already in drawdown, or a transfer to overseas pensions (including QROPS). Steps for any move are in how to transfer a pension.
A pension call that arrives out of the blue is one the FCA says to end straight away; its pension scams page has more.
Limits Vanguard sets out
Each of these is Vanguard's own statement, from the document named, and worth having next to the fees:
- Vanguard funds. The key features document (November 2025) says Vanguard does "not presently permit direct shares or any investment other than Vanguard Funds".
- No annuities. The terms say "Vanguard does not provide or offer annuities"; an annuity would be bought from an insurer, which is what pension annuity explains.
- No employer payments. The transfer page says the Vanguard Personal Pension "is not a workplace pension", so an employer cannot contribute to it, directly or on your behalf.
- A management fee if Vanguard manages it. The managed costs document (15 June 2026) sets a management fee of 0.30% a year on a managed pension, charged alongside the account fee and fund costs; on £100,000 that fee alone is £300 (0.30% x £100,000). The difference between the two is in Vanguard's managed and self-managed options.
For other firms' charges, see Interactive Investor, Hargreaves Lansdown and Fidelity; pension charges covers the kinds of cost, and what a SIPP is the basics. Interest on cash is in SIPP interest on cash: Vanguard charges no service fee for holding cash but retains part of the bank interest.
Vanguard SIPP fees: questions people ask
Does the £375 cap cover fund charges?
No. The cap applies to the account fee only and is reached at £250,000 invested; fund costs and other charges sit outside it.
Does Vanguard charge to transfer a SIPP out or close it?
Its fees page lists transferring out and closing your account as no-charge items. Before a full transfer out, any account fee built up is taken first.
Does Vanguard charge for drawdown?
There is no fee for starting to use your pension savings, on Vanguard's transfer page. The account fee and fund charges carry on for the money left invested.
What are Vanguard SIPP dealing charges?
Vanguard's fees page lists fund entry and exit charges among the items with no charge. An ETF bought or sold through the quote and deal service costs £7.50 a trade.
Is there a Vanguard SIPP annual management charge?
Not under that name. A self-managed pension pays an account fee and fund management costs; the managed service adds a management fee of 0.30% a year.
Your next step
Fee pages only go so far. Where a large pot, guarantees in an old plan or an income plan is involved, an FCA-authorised adviser firm can talk it through by phone. Ask for that call on the form on this page. It is free and quick.
Sources, read 19 October 2026 unless dated: Vanguard, fees and charges, transfer a pension and flexible income pages; Vanguard, self-managed costs and charges (20 August 2026), managed costs and charges (15 June 2026), client terms (August 2026) and key features (November 2025); FCA, pension scams; MoneyHelper, Pension Wise (archived copy).