Business First May-June 2017 Business First May 2017 | Page 14

COVER STORY - SSAS SOLUTIONS
SSAS SOLUTIONS
UNLOCKING THE
INVESTMENT POTENTIAL OF
YOUR PENSION POT
Allison Chambers and Michael Galway, directors, SSAS Solutions
ust two years after it was established,
specialist pension firm SSAS Solutions
faced the need to upsize its business
premises amid rapid growth.
And the directors of the Belfast­based firm
turned to their own product ­ a bespoke
pension arrangement ­ to secure the purchase
of a larger commercial property.
Set up in 2010, SSAS Solutions is Northern
Ireland’s only firm of dedicated Small Self­
Administered Scheme (SSAS) consultants
offering business owners a tailored
retirement solution.
The firm moved to its current Ravenhill
Road base in 2012 when owners Allison
Chambers and Michael Galway used money
from their accrued pension pots to establish a
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trust which bought new premises and now
leases it back to their business.
Experience
It is an arrangement familiar to Allison and
Michael who between them have more than
30 years’ experience in delivering this unique
pension product to owner­managed and
family businesses across Northern Ireland
and beyond.
The pair had already worked together for
more than a decade at global business
advisory firm PwC but identified the need for
a new approach around the use of small self­
administered pension schemes.
SSAS schemes can be used by company
directors and, in fact, any employer to open up
a wide range of investment opportunities, most
typically for the purchase of commercial
property or loan­backs to the sponsoring firm.
Allison and Michael’s knowledge of the
pensions industry, coupled with a distinctive
business model, enables their clients to
benefit from a level of experience that is
unrivalled in Northern Ireland.
Growth
SSAS Solutions has been at the forefront of
the rising popularity of SSAS schemes in
Northern Ireland over recent years,
evidenced by the firm’s phenomenal growth.
This year, the company eclipsed £1 million
turnover for the first time representing a 185
per cent increase since 2013.