Pension Snakes & Ladders – are you protected?
You may remember, back in the days when we thought that Pension Simplification would be just that, the government introduced a limit on the amount of money you could build up in registered pension schemes. This is known as the lifetime allowance. It started off at £1.5m in 2006 and has gradually grown to £1.8m in this tax year.
If you were affected by this limit, or thought you might be in the future, you could apply for protection. Not the type of protection you get from guys with sharp suits, wide lapels and violin cases but protection from the nasty tax charges that bite when you exceed the lifetime allowance.
In th
is new era of financial austerity high earners are bearing their share of the financial pain. The Finance Bill 2011 will introduce a new lifetime allowance of £1.5m from 2012. It’s the Treasury’s version of pension snakes and ladders.
So basically we are back where we started? No, not quite. The government have said that a new type of protection will be introduced. They’ve called it Fixed Protection. It will allow individuals to take advantage of the current £1.8 million lifetime allowance so long as they build up any further benefits. If you’ve claimed protection under the 2006 rules you can still have up to the £1.8m limit.
If you employ high earners with substantial pension benefits it’s worth looking at those whose pension values are between £1.5m and £1.8m
If you are an employee and you think that you may be affected you really should get some specialist advice.
Well there you have it. Pensions Simplification? As if!