momo
US citizens in the UK · Institutions

Which Aviva accounts accept US citizens

Last checked

Aviva offers a pension to a US person.

If you already have an account with Aviva, a second one there is usually the easier application, because Aviva has already checked who you are. Each account below carries its verdict, the evidence behind it and the date it was checked.

At a glance

Account Verdict Last checked
SIPPs Opens

SIPPs

Compare with other providers
Opens

Aviva publishes its eligibility test and citizenship is not in it: you must be 18 and resident in the UK. Its one US clause bites on residence rather than nationality, and only if you move to the States, at which point you are held to insured funds and cash.

FSCS £85,000 for nominee holdings, 100% for insured funds · app and web

Account Terms The catch
Aviva Pension
Annual fee
0.35% a year on the first £500,000, nothing above
Dealing fee
£4.99 a trade in shares, ETFs and investment trusts
Can hold
Direct shares, ETFs and investment trusts alongside more than 5,000 funds. The direct-share route is what lets a US person hold individual companies rather than pooled funds.
 From £25 a month. Fund manager charges sit on top. Moving to the US restricts you to insured funds and cash.

Source: Aviva Pension terms and conditions, 2026-08-17 Last checked Aviva's own page

Account names link to the provider's own site. momo has no active affiliate partnerships; if that changes it will be disclosed and will never change a verdict. Every institution, A to Z.

Confirm your own position with a cross-border specialist. Acceptance policies and tax rules change, and your facts may differ from the general case. Rates and terms here are the provider's published figures rather than an offer, and the provider decides each application on its own criteria. Use this as a map, not a ruling. Last checked .
Tax

SIPP US tax

The treaty generally lets a UK SIPP grow tax-deferred for US purposes, but the protection has limits. How the US treats contributions, growth and drawdown.

 Tax

US-UK tax treaty

The US-UK treaty stops most double taxation, but the saving clause lets the US tax its citizens almost as if it were not there. What survives the clause.

 Tax

Form 3520

A UK pension held in trust can be a foreign trust to the IRS. Rev. Proc. 2020-17 exempts qualifying retirement trusts from Forms 3520 and 3520-A, on conditions.