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Retirement

How to Claim Tax Relief on Private Pension Contributions | Tax relief on pension contributions

You can usually claim tax relief for your private pension contributions. There is an annual allowance for tax relief on pensions of £60,000 for the current 2023-24 tax year. The annual allowance was £40,000 in 2022-23.

There is a three year carry forward rule that allows you to carry forward any unused amount of your annual allowance from the last three tax years if you have made pension savings in those years. There also used to also be a lifetime limit for tax relief on pension contributions but this was removed with effect from 6 April 2023.

How to Claim Tax Relief on Private Pension Contributions | Tax relief on pension contributions

You can usually claim tax relief for your private pension contributions. There is an annual allowance for tax relief on pensions of £60,000 for the current 2023-24 tax year. The annual allowance was £40,000 in 2022-23.

There is a three year carry forward rule that allows you to carry forward any unused amount of your annual allowance from the last three tax years if you have made pension savings in those years. There also used to also be a lifetime limit for tax relief on pension contributions but this was removed with effect from 6 April 2023.

Pension Changes from 6 April 2023

The new pension tax reforms that were announced in the recent Spring Budget took effect from 6 April 2023. The old £40,000 cap on annual pension contributions has been increased by 50% to £60,000, with effect from 6 April 2023. Tax relief for contributions to pension schemes is given at a taxpayer’s marginal rate of Income Tax and is subject to the increased underlying limits. Taxpayers will continue to be able to carry forward unused annual allowances the last three tax years if they have made pension savings in those years.

When will you be able to claim your state pension?

There have been a number of things driving the increases in the pension age over the last few years, and women have been particularly affected by this as their state pension age has increased from 60 to 66 in that time.  For men the increase has been less extreme, with the age increasing by only one year from 65 to 66.

Retirement age NI bonus

When you reach the State Retirement Age (SRA) you stop paying Class 1 NIC contributions if you are employed, and Class 2 contributions if you are self-employed.

You will still have to pay Class 4 NIC, the most significant self-employed NIC charge, for the entire tax year during which you achieve the SRA. The next year you will be exempt.

Retirement age NI bonus

When you reach the State Retirement Age (SRA) you stop paying Class 1 NIC contributions if you are employed, and Class 2 contributions if you are self-employed.

You will still have to pay Class 4 NIC, the most significant self-employed NIC charge, for the entire tax year during which you achieve the SRA. The next year you will be exempt.