Widespread relief after measured pensions tax reforms unveiled

Widespread relief after measured pensions tax reforms unveiled

Fears of restrictions on pension tax breaks have been dispelled after the government unveils measures today

Mark Hoban

Accountants, pensions experts and business groups have welcomed the
government’s stance on taxing pensions, after the coalition did not clampdown to
the extent feared by some commentators.

Most significantly, the government held off from withdrawing high earners’
access to claim higher-rate tax reliefs on their contributions.

The government will reduce the annual limit on tax-free pension contributions
from £255,000 to £50,000 per year from 5 April 2011, and reduce the lifetime
limit from £1.8m to £1.5m on 6 April 2012.

There had been fears that the annual limit could be reduced to a lower
threshold.

John Cridland, CBI deputy director-general, said: “Today’s announcement is
not as bad as feared. The government had considered making the annual allowance
as low as £30,000.

“It is important now that the government appreciates the short timescale for
implementation and works with companies to provide clarity.”

The Treasury estimates 100,000 people will be affected by the annual limit
decrease, but it will still be an “ample” threshold for most people to build up
a decent pension.

Tom McPhail, head of pensions research at Hargreaves Lansdown said: “This
news is as good as can be expected and is a vast improvement on the tortuous
system for restricting tax relief proposed by the previous government.

“We welcome the proposals to allow contributions to be spread over four
years, however, it is clear from these reforms that everyone should now look on
their pension allowance like their ISA allowance, as something to be used every
year.”

However, some accountants said the announcement would be a mixed blessing for
some taxpayers.

George Bull, Baker Tilly’s tax chief, welcomed the £50,000 threshold for
annual contributions but raised concerns about the lifetime allowance decrease.

“News of the reduction of the lifetime allowance from £1.8m to £1.5m from 6
April 2012 is unwelcome.

“The reference in the Treasury statement to a further consultation on using
pension funds to pay tax suggests that people with pension arrangements worth
more than £1.5m at 6 April 2012 will suffer an unwelcome and potentially heavy
tax charge.”

Despite these concerns, high earners will still be encouraged because they
can still offset the tax they pay on contributions through tax reliefs.

Param Basi, pensions technical director at AWD Chase de Vere, said: “We are
really pleased that higher earners will still be able to claim higher rate tax
relief.

“However, there are no guarantees and AWD Chase de Vere strongly encourages
high earners, where they are able, to maximise pension contributions now.”

Basi added that higher earners in final salary pension schemes needed to be
very careful because the multiplier used to value their benefits has increased.

This means many scheme members need to be wary of possible tax charges, Basi
warned.

Financial secretary to the Treasury, Mark Hoban MP said: “We have abandoned
the previous government’s complex proposals and developed a solution that will
help to tackle the deficit but not hit those on low and moderate incomes. We
have taken a tough but fair decision.”

Further reading:

Government
could kill pensions tax scheme

Pensions
tax shift will see FDs feel the pinch

Share

Subscribe to get your daily business insights

Resources & Whitepapers

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata
Professional Services

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folders and Embrace Metadata

3y

Why Professional Services Firms Should Ditch Folde...

In the past decade, the professional services industry has transformed significantly. Digital disruptions, increased competition, and changing market ...

View resource
2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professional Services Firms

3y

2 Vital keys to Remaining Competitive for Professi...

In recent months, professional services firms are facing more pressure than ever to deliver value to clients. Often, clients look at the firms own inf...

View resource
Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine
Accounting Firms

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

3y

Turn Accounts Payable into a value-engine

In a world of instant results and automated workloads, the potential for AP to drive insights and transform results is enormous. But, if you’re still ...

View resource
Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021
Making Tax Digital

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

3y

Digital Links: A guide to MTD in 2021

The first phase of Making Tax Digital (MTD) saw the requirement for the digital submission of the VAT Return using compliant software. That’s now behi...

View resource