Higher rate tax relief on pension contributions

Hello I currently make above £125k a year, and my employer and I contribute about £22k of my salary into a workplace pension. Due to the costs associated with the workplace pension I would like to move part of my pension to a SIPP, and contribute the minimum amount to the workplace pension (to keep my employer paying into it) while paying most of the money into the SIPP every month. Being a higher taxpayer I know that when I pay into a SIPP I only get 20% tax relief automatically -- in order to get the additional 20% I have to submit a SA at the end of the year. This, however, seems like a poor option, mostly because I don't get to invest the extra 20% for up to a year, and therefore lose the interests I would have otherwise earnt on it. Is there a way to get this extra 20% earlier? If I let HMRC know how much I'm planinng on contributing into my SIPP for the year, will they adjust my tax code accordingly? How are other people paying into their SIPP, is everyone waiting until the end of the year to claim tax back? That seems like a very inefficient way of investing. Thank you in advance

Hi,
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Tax on your private pension contributions
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It's surprising to me that the workplace pension's costs are so much as to push you towards a SIPP - the ones my various employers have used have typically been good value. But, assuming you've done the maths and are happy with that decision, another thing you could consider is **how** your salary is added to your workplace pension... if it is by salary sacrifice - and with employers paying £100k+ it often is - then you are also saving a deduction of 2% employee NICs on the amount going to your pension - and this is a saving you can't claim back if you instead choose to be paid directly, and then make your own SIPP contributions. If you still think it's worth making your own contributions, then yes, it is possible to get a tax code adjustment, as I've had that treatment in years past. I don't know if it is possible to contact HMRC ad-hoc and get your tax code increased for the current year based on your plans - it might be, but I've never done it. I do, however, know that on the Self Assessment tax return, right after the place you declare contributions, there's a box to say how much of the contributions were one-off (as opposed to recurring), so that HMRC know how much credit for anticipated pension contributions to include in your tax code for the year following.

Yes, I know that by paying into the SIPP I won't be saving the 2% NI. However, my current workplace pension charges 0.43% yearly of the value of the fund, which is far more then interactive investor for example, which charges a flat fee regardless of the value of the pot. Saving 2% NI on the pension contribution is nothing compared to the 0.43% *yearly* I have to pay on the workplace pension plan. With ii charging a flat fee, the math seems pretty clear to me.