Nothing in the pension rules caps the number of SIPPs you may open. People routinely hold several, usually because they were opened at different times or with different providers rather than by design. The limit that actually exists sits somewhere else entirely: on the total that can be paid into all of your pensions in a tax year with tax relief.
The number is not limited, the contributions are
You may hold as many self invested personal pensions as providers will open for you. What is measured across all of them together is the annual allowance. GOV.UK states that the annual allowance is the most you can save in your pension pots in a tax year before you have to pay tax, and that it is 60,000 pounds. Crucially it counts everything going in, including contributions from an employer or from your own company, so holding three SIPPs gives you one shared allowance and three sets of charges.
When holding more than one is useful
There are genuine reasons. A full SIPP holding commercial property alongside a low cost platform holding funds is a common split for a company director, because the permissions and the charges that come with them differ sharply. Keeping a pension with a valuable guarantee separate from new contributions is another. In both cases the second account exists because it does something the first cannot, which is the test worth applying before opening one.
When it is just drag
Most multiple SIPPs are accidents of employment history rather than decisions. Each one carries its own annual charge, its own paperwork and its own investment choices to keep track of, and small pots are where flat fees bite hardest. Consolidation is often cheaper and always simpler, but it is not automatically right: an older pension can carry a guaranteed annuity rate or protected benefits that are lost on transfer, and those are worth checking before anything is moved.
What to check before consolidating
Ask each existing provider whether the pension carries any guarantee, protected tax free cash or an exit penalty, and get the answer in writing. If you cannot trace an old pension, GOV.UK's find pension contact details service is the starting point. This site does not advise on whether to transfer, which is a regulated activity, and where a transfer needs a recommendation the enquiry goes to an authorised firm.
Other questions people ask
Is there a legal limit on the number of SIPPs?
No. You can hold as many as providers will open. The limit that exists is on contributions rather than accounts: GOV.UK sets the annual allowance at 60,000 pounds across all your pensions in a tax year, counting what you, your employer and anyone else pays in.
Does each SIPP get its own allowance?
No, and this is the most common misunderstanding. The annual allowance is measured across every private pension you hold, added together. Opening a second SIPP does not create a second allowance; it creates a second set of charges.
Should I consolidate several SIPPs into one?
Often it is cheaper and simpler, but not always right. Older pensions can carry guaranteed annuity rates, protected tax free cash or exit penalties that disappear on transfer. Ask each provider in writing what would be given up before moving anything.
How do I find a SIPP I have lost track of?
GOV.UK runs a find pension contact details service that traces the provider or scheme from an employer name or scheme name. It gives you the contact details rather than the balance, which is the first step to getting a current valuation.