A new pension schemes newsletter has been published by HMRC. The latest edition of the newsletter includes details of the following topics:
Relief at source – Excess relief
HMRC has allowed pension schemes to report excess relief via interim claims. HMRC has confirmed this will continue until April 2022, whilst the government considers responses to the pensions tax relief administration call to evidence.
Relief at source– annual return
The filing date for the 2019-20 annual return was 5 July 2020. If the annual return was not submitted on time this will hold up any interim repayment claims for 2020-21.
Collective money purchase benefits
The government has introduced draft legislation to change pensions tax rules to accommodate collective money purchase benefits (previously referred to as collective defined contribution schemes (CDCs). The consultation on the matter is open for comment until 15 September 2020.
Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) Equalisation
This guidance supplements existing guidance in the Pensions Tax Manual on benefit adjustments for registered pension schemes with periods of contracted out pensionable service between 17 May 1990 and 5 April 1997.
Pension flexibility
The quarterly release of official statistics on flexible payments for the period 1 April to 30 June 2020 has been published. In the period, 7649 tax repayment claim forms were received by HMRC and over £27.2m was repaid.
Annual allowance
A reminder for scheme administrators to issue annual allowance pension savings statements for 2019-20 by 6 October 2020 for scheme members who made pension savings of more than the annual allowance. Also, a reminder that any members who have exceeded the annual allowance for 2019-20, and do not have sufficient unused annual allowance to carry forward to cover the excess, must declare this on their Self-Assessment tax return.
Source Informanagement