HMRC Pension Scheme Services Newsletters 118 and 119
28 May 2020
HMRC Pensions Schemes services provide timely and informative updates for stakeholders through their regular newsletters which currently contain temporary changes introduced due to COVID19 outbreak.
The annual allowance calculator has been updated to reflect the changes to threshold income, adjusted income and the minimum tapered annual allowance for the 2020 to 2021 tax year.
In recognition of difficulties being experienced by pension scheme administrators in getting the valuations they need, in order to complete their pension scheme returns, HMRC Pension Schemes Services have decided not to issue any notices to file pension schemes returns for 2019 to 2020.
Guidance in relation to pension protection age and employment (including re-employment) states that where an individual with a protected pension age between age 50 and 55 retires and takes benefits before age 55, they lose their protected pension age if they are subsequently re-employed by any of the following employers:
- any person who was a sponsoring employer in relation to the pension scheme at any time during the period of 6 months ending leading up to the individual taking benefits
- any person who is connected with any such person, or
- any person who is a sponsoring employer in relation to the pension scheme and with whom the member is connected
and none of the re-employment conditions are met.
On 22 April 2020 John Glen MP (Economic Secretary to the Treasury) made a written ministerial statement to confirm that the government has temporarily suspend tax rules that would otherwise apply significant tax charges to pension income received by recently retired individuals aged between 50 and 55. In line with this statement, if the nature of the employment is to undertake work in relation to the COVID 19 outbreak, then HMRC accepts that the re-employment conditions have been satisfied.
Included in the Managing pension schemes service newsletter – April 2020 were details of the timeline of delivery for features on the Managing registered pension schemes service. This included the features that were planned to be introduced in 2021 and 2022. Unfortunately, as a result of HMRC’s response to coronavirus (COVID-19), there will be a delay to the delivery of some of the remaining features onto the service.
Pension scheme administration - moving pension recipients from one payroll to another
HMRC have updated the ‘less common circumstances’ section of the GOV.UK guide paying a company pension or annuity through your payroll.
Will the tapered annual allowance apply to me?
Following on from the Budget announcement THMRC have provided information in the to help scheme members understand how if, and how, the taper could apply to them.
A calculation is needed of:
- net income in that tax year
- pension savings in that tax year
- threshold income in that tax year
- adjusted income in that tax year
Since 6 April 2020, scheme members will have a reduced (‘tapered’) annual allowance if both:
- the threshold income is over £200,000 (this was previously £110,000)
- the adjusted income is over £240,000 (this was previously £150,000)
There is no tapered annual allowance if the threshold income for that year is £200,000 or less, no matter what the adjusted income is.
If the member is subject to the tapered annual allowance, where every £2 of adjusted income goes over £240,000, the annual allowance for that year reduces by £1.
From 6 April 2020 the minimum that this can reduce to is a tapered annual allowance of £4,000.
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CIPP comment The Pensions Industry Stakeholder Forum meet twice a year and recently held their April meeting by teleconference, the minutes are now published. The next meeting is to be held in October, please contact Samantha Mann, CIPP Policy and research technical lead, if you have any subjects you wish to put forward to the agenda [email protected] |
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