Your pension is one of the most tax efficient investments you may hold. Not only do you receive full tax relief on your contributions (with some exceptions – see below), but those contributions are invested in funds which can grow free from tax. This could make a significant difference to the value of your savings over the long term and increase your income in retirement.
We provide our own SIPP* (Self-Invested Personal Pension) which can help you benefit from tax efficiency, diversification and flexibility for your pension savings.
The current pension rules are broadly:
- You can contribute to as many pension schemes as you like.
- You can contribute a total of up to 100% of your UK taxable earnings, subject to an Annual Allowance of £40,000** each year.
- If you haven’t used up your £40,000 Annual Allowance in any of the three previous tax years, any unused allowance can be carried forward to the current tax year.
- You will receive full tax relief on your qualifying contributions. This means that if basic rate tax is 20%, for every £80 you invest HMRC will add £20. If you are a higher rate or an additional rate tax payer, you can claim the additional tax relief through your annual self-assessment tax return.
- The funds grow free from tax.
- You can draw your retirement benefits at any time from age 55 – you don’t even have to retire to draw your benefits.
- You can draw up to 25% of your fund as a tax free lump sum and the balance can be used to provide an income.
For further details, please contact us.
*If utilising a SIPP is deemed appropriate for your circumstances, it should be noted that we are ‘restricted’. Your Adviser will therefore only provide restricted advice in relation to pension products and recommend our SIPP.
**If you earn more than £240,000 per annum you may have a reduced Annual Allowance, potentially as low as £4,000.