Pension year meaning

FORTHCOMING CHANGE: On 26 November 2025, within Budget 2025, the government confirmed that from April 2029, only the first £2,000 each tax year of a pension contribution made pursuant to a salary sacrifice arrangement will be free of National Insurance contributions (NICs). Any amount sacrificed by an employee above £2,000 a year will attract both employer and employee NICs, so the portion over £2,000 will, for NICs, be handled in line with standard employee workplace pension payments, meaning the excess is treated in the same way as other employee workplace pension contributions for NICs purposes. Employer contributions are unaffected, as is income tax relief. Employers will need to report the total amount of salary sacrificed through existing payroll software, with HMRC committing to engage with stakeholders. HMRC will publish further guidance ‘before April 2029’. The National Insurance Contributions (Employer Pensions Contributions) Bill 2026 will insert a new subsection into section 4 of the Social Security Contributions and Benefits Act 1992 that empowers the government to make regulations providing for...

The single tier State Pension (on and from 6 April 2016) On 6 April 2016, the Basic State Pension was overhauled and replaced by a single-tier, flat-rate pension, merging the Basic State Pension with the Second State Pension. From that date, men and women alike must have 35 qualifying years of National Insurance contributions to receive the full flat-rate amount. Marital status makes no difference to the level paid. Tax year Amount (per week) 2026/2027 £241.30 2025/2026 £230.25 2024/2025 £221.20 2023/2024 £203.85 2022/2023 £185.15 2021/2022 £179.60 2020/2021 £175.20 2019/2020 £168.60 2018/2019 £164.35 2017/2018 £159.55 2016/2017 £155.65 The Basic State Pension (before 6 April 2016) Before 6 April 2016, the Basic State Pension comprised the Basic State Pension and the Second State Pension. There was a third, minor, component known as the graduated pension that depended on graduated National Insurance contributions paid by employees while the graduated scheme ran from 1961 to...

This checklist sets out the requirements for the content of schemes’ annual reports and accounts under the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734. For fuller guidance on the duty on occupational pension schemes to produce annual reports and accounts, see Practice Note: Pension scheme annual reports and accounts. Requirement to prepare and disclose a pension scheme annual report Trustees of an occupational pension scheme meeting the conditions in the Occupational and Personal Pension Schemes (Disclosure of Information) Regulations 2013, SI 2013/2734, Sch 1, Para 1 must produce an annual report no later than seven months following the close of each scheme year. For further details, see: Disclosure requirements for occupational and personal pension schemes—the 2013 disclosure regulations—Scope of the 2013 Disclosure Regulations. The annual report must be provided to any relevant person (that is, a member, prospective member, their spouse or civil partner, a beneficiary or a recognised trade union) who: requests the document within five years...

FSCS reported that men accounted for four in every five complaints it handled. Of the 43,000 individuals who lodged claims for losses, 95% were aged between 45 and 75. 'The impact on people's pensions evident within our claims is very significant and has severe consequences for thousands of people every year,' said Martyn Beauchamp, interim chief executive at FSCS...

According to the FCA's figures, 41,500 individuals accessed their pensions for lump-sum withdrawals in the last financial year, up 14.6% from 36,200 a year earlier, the watchdog said. At the same time, the FCA noted a 13.6% slide in annuity sales, falling to 59,100 over the last financial year from 68,500 the year before, according to the regulator. The regulator also reported that transfers from defined benefit to defined contribution schemes decreased, dropping to 18,073 in the financial year ending March 2023 from 26,619 in the preceding year...

Aon plc, the British‑American management consultancy, said it would ‘naturally’ give company directors more sway over a scheme if trustees of defined benefit plans were obliged to obtain the sponsor’s agreement to a new ‘statement of strategy’, as outlined by TPR earlier in March 2024. TPR also stated that managers of defined benefit retirement schemes must lodge the strategy alongside their routine valuation documents from 22 September 2024. A defined benefit pension delivers a guaranteed income each year for life, determined by a worker’s final or average salary...

STOP PRESS On 11 May 2026, HMRC issued a new technical note, inheritance tax on pensions. It explains the inheritance tax (IHT) changes made by the Finance Act 2026 for deaths on or after 6 April 2027. The note outlines how notional pension property will be pinpointed, assessed and apportioned to beneficiaries, who must report and settle any IHT due, how withholding notices and the pensions direct payment scheme will work, and how the reforms dovetail with existing income tax rules on pension death benefits. The government is expected to bring forward supporting secondary legislation on information-sharing duties later this year. HMRC will provide guidance, supplementary materials and interactive tools for personal representatives by April 2027. This Practice Note is being revised to incorporate the technical note. For more detail, see LNB News 11/05/20026 40. This Practice Note explains how IHT rules apply to the build-up and payment of benefits from HMRC-registered occupational and personal pension schemes. Importantly, reforms are in train to draw unused pension funds and death...

Practice Note Retail investment advisers, pension transfer specialists, individuals involved in regulated funeral plan activities, and relevant employees within firms carrying out insurance distribution are required to comply with the professional standards established and overseen by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA), which include completing a minimum level of suitable continuing professional development (CPD) each year. This Practice Note summarises the FCA’s CPD requirements as outlined in the Training and Competence sourcebook (TC)...

Practice Note for UK defined benefit (DB) occupational pension schemes This Practice Note is archived and is not maintained. It reviews the Pensions Regulator’s approach to funding defined benefit pension schemes for valuations with an effective date before 22 September 2024, in line with the Code of Practice on funding defined benefits dated 29 July 2014, alongside the relevant annual funding statements. It also summarises the Pensions Regulator’s approach prior to July 2014. For information on the Pensions Regulator’s approach for scheme valuations with an effective date on or after 22 September 2024, see Practice Notes: DB pensions funding reforms 2024 and The scheme-specific funding regime. When considering scheme funding issues, trustees and employers should take into account the Pensions Regulator’s approach to funding defined benefits (DB benefits). How would the Pension Regulator communicate its approach to DB scheme funding? The Pensions Regulator’s position in relation to DB scheme funding was mainly conveyed through the following documents: a code of practice on funding defined...

This Deed is entered into on the [ insert day ] day of [ insert month ] 20[ insert year ] Parties [ Insert full company name ], incorporated in England and Wales with company number [ insert number ], and whose registered office is at [ insert registered company address ] (the Departing Employer); [ Insert full company name ], incorporated in England and Wales with company number [ insert number ], and whose registered office is at [ insert registered company address ] (the Receiving Employer); and [ [ Insert full name of company ] incorporated in England and Wales with company number [ insert number ] and having its registered office at [ insert registered company address ] OR [ insert individual name(s) ] of [ insert individual address(es) ] ] (the Trustees). Background: (A) [ insert full name of scheme ] (the Scheme) was constituted by an [ interim OR definitive ] deed dated [ insert...

This Agreement is dated [ insert day and month ] 20[ insert year ] Parties [ insert name of selling corporate entity ], a company registered in [ England and Wales OR [ insert country of incorporation ] ], with number [ insert company number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (Seller) [ insert name of purchasing corporate entity ], a company registered in [ England and Wales OR [ insert country of incorporation ] ], with number [ insert company number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (Buyer) [ Insert name of guarantor entity ], incorporated in [ England and Wales OR [ insert country of incorporation ] ], with number [ insert company number ], whose registered office is at [ insert address ] (Guarantor) [ Each of the Seller, the Buyer and the Guarantor is a Party and, collectively, the Seller, the Buyer and the Guarantor are the Parties. ]...

Effective from [ insert date ], this statement of investment principles applies. 1 Statement of investment principles 1.1 Purpose of statement This document outlines the principles that steer decisions on investing the assets of the [ insert name ] Pension Scheme (the Scheme). It is published by the Trustees of the [ insert name ] Pension Scheme (the Trustees) to meet the requirements of the Pensions Act 1995, s 35. 1.2 Review The statement will be assessed each year. The Trustees may conduct an ad hoc review at any time if they consider there has been a material change in investment policy, or any other circumstances affecting the Scheme. 1.3 Advice The Trustees have received and evaluated written advice on the contents of this statement in a letter from [ insert name of investment consultant or actuary ]. [ insert name ] have confirmed to the Trustees that, through their ability and practical experience in financial matters, and with appropriate knowledge...

Automatic enrolment does not apply to workers under age 22. Individuals younger than 22 fall outside automatic enrolment. However, anyone aged 16 to 21 with qualifying earnings of £6,032 or above in the 2018–19 tax year may choose to join their employer’s automatic enrolment arrangement and receive employer pension contributions. For the purposes of limb (a) in section 230(3) of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA 1996), a worker is an individual who has entered into, or works or worked under, a contract of employment. Under ERA 1996, section 230(2), a contract of employment means a contract of service or apprenticeship. An apprenticeship agreement meeting the requirements of the Apprenticeships, Skills, Children and Learning Act 2009 is treated as a contract of service, not a contract of apprenticeship. See Practice Notes: Employee status and Apprenticeships...

statutory sick pay (SSP) For general guidance on SSP, see Practice Note: Sick pay. Under section 13 of the Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA), an employer must not take deductions from a worker’s wages unless one of the following applies: the deduction is required or authorised by a statutory provision, or by a relevant term in the worker’s contract; or the worker has previously given written agreement or consent to the deduction (eg in respect of pension contributions) See also Practice Note: Deductions from wages—When deductions are lawful. In addition, ERA 1996, s 14 identifies certain ‘excepted deductions’ to which section 13 does not apply. These excepted deductions under ERA 1996, s 14 include situations where the deduction is made to reimburse the employer for an overpayment of wages, or for an overpayment of expenses incurred by the worker in the course of their employment...