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Pensions and tax considerations

Members of pension schemes in the UK enjoy tax relief on both their pension contributions and on cash lump sums taken at retirement. Pension income, however, is taxed as earned income under the PAYE system.

This preferential tax treatment is the government's way of incentivising individuals to save towards their retirement, but there are limits to their generosity. There are restrictions on the maximum tax-free benefit you can build up in any single year and the maximum tax-free benefits you can draw at retirement.

Annual allowance

The annual allowance is the contributions you use to build up your pension savings. The Annual Allowance (AA) is the maximum amount of pension savings you can build up each year before you get a tax charge.

The standard AA is currently £60,000 per tax year. If you build pension savings over this, you may incur a tax charge.

If you’re a high earner, you’re likely to have a Tapered Annual Allowance. Or if you’ve started taking any Investment Builder savings (or any other defined contribution savings) you may have a Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA).

The AA applies to pension savings you’ve built up in all pension schemes over the course of the tax year.

If you earn over £200,000 in a tax year, you will likely be affected by the Tapered Annual Allowance.

How is the AA calculated?

The pension savings you build up during each tax year are measured against the AA using a method set out by HMRC. The measure is different depending on the type of pension savings you’re building up.

For the Retirement Income Builder (defined benefit), the measure is based on the value of the benefits you’ve earned over the tax year (it’s not based on contributions from you and your employer). The value of your Retirement Income Builder benefits is calculated as 19 times your annual pension accrued in the tax year for AA purposes.

For the Investment Builder (defined contribution), the measure is based on what you and your employer have paid in to your pot – but doesn’t include any investment returns.

You can find further information on the above, including calculators, on the HMRC website.

Rewards Team

Email: reward@essex.ac.uk

University of Essex
Wivenhoe Park
Colchester CO4 3SQ

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