Budget 2016: The Pension Announcements that might have passed you by

Budget 2016: The Pension Announcements that might have passed you by

Whilst they may have escaped the headlines there were nonetheless some interesting pension related announcements contained within the Budget. David Smith, Director of Financial Planning at Tilney Bestinvest, reviews some of the Chancellors less prominent pension related revelations:

Salary sacrifice survive
“This is a contractual agreement between an employer and an employee to reduce salary/ bonus in lieu of an alternative benefit; typically a pension contribution. Such an agreement results in National Insurance savings for both the employer and employee and it was therefore widely expected that this practice would be abolished in the year’s Budget. Surprisingly, the Government have confirmed that this practice will continue to be an option for pension funding, thus missing an opportunity to claw back tax.

The birth of the pension dashboard
“The Chancellor has announced that in 2019 a new digital platform will be launched which will provide details of an individual’s entire pension portfolio. Whilst I admire and support the sentiment, I remain unconvinced that the dashboard will ever come to light; there are simply too many outdated legacy systems still being operated by insurance companies and pension administrators alike.

Workplace pension advice allowance going up
“Employers are generally unaware that the Government has tried to encourage them to help employees obtain Workplace Pension related advice by allowing a tax and National Insurance free allowance of up to £150 per employee for employer arranged advice. This allowance will be increased to £500 per employee from April 2017, which will hopefully enable lower paid employees to access professional advice.

Pensions advice allowance
“A new Pensions Advice Allowance has been proposed, which will allow people under the age of 55 to withdraw up to £500 tax free from their Defined Contribution pension savings and use this towards the cost of financial advice. A consultation process will be undertaken in this regard. Hopefully this will become Legislation, as too many people are making poor decisions that are materially affecting their retirement lifestyle. The options available at retirement are numerous and complex. Everyone therefore needs to be encouraged to take professional advice; after all, for most, it will be the second biggest financial decision of their lives.

Changes to Legislation for the seriously ill
“Moving forward pension tax rules will be relaxed so that those that are seriously ill will be allowed to draw a lump sum from their pension scheme even if benefits are already being received, which is not currently the case. Furthermore, any such payments made to those aged 75 or older will be taxed as income rather than at the current unfair flat rate of 45%.

Under 23 drawdown income rule change
“There has been an inadvertent anomaly in Pensions Legislation resulting in minor dependents’ being prohibited from drawing an income from a drawdown pension when they reach the age of 23. They will now be allowed to continue drawing a pension income post age 23 like other minor beneficiaries. A welcome amendment to an unintended Legislation.

Trivial Commutation Lump Sums
“It will be possible to pay such a lump sum from a Defined Contribution pension plan that is already in payment. This has not been allowed to date.

“The Budget has certainly been far better than I ever envisaged, with the Chancellor righting wrongs and creating a taxation and savings structure that encourages the young and old alike to save for the future. Just as well, as there is a very big savings black hole to be filled, which rightly seems to have been identified by the Government as a key threat to our country’s future financial prosperity.”

To discuss the Budget or any other financial planning topic please contact David Smith on 0191 269 9970 / david.smith@tilneybestinvest.co.uk

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Important Information

The value of investments, and the income derived from them, can go down as well as up and you can get back less than you originally invested.

If you are unsure of your options you should seek professional financial advice or visit Pensionwise.gov.uk.

This article is not advice to invest or to use our services. If you are in doubt as to the suitability of an investment please contact one of our advisers.

The above article is based on our interpretation of the Budget 2016 and related legislation; it is not intended as advice, and the impact of any changes to tax rates or allowances will depend on your personal circumstances.

Press contacts:

Jason Hollands
0207 189 9919 / 07768 661382
jason.hollands@tilneybestinvest.co.uk

Gillian Kyle
0203 818 6846 / 07989 650 604
gillian.kyle@tilneybestinvest.co.uk

About Tilney Bestinvest

Tilney Bestinvest is a leading investment and financial planning firm that builds on a heritage of more than 150 years. We look after more than £9 billion of assets on our clients’ behalf and pride ourselves on offering the very highest levels of professional client service with transparent, competitive pricing across our entire range of solutions.

We offer a range of services for clients whether they would like to have their investments managed by us, require the support of a highly qualified adviser, prefer to make their own investment decisions or want to take more than one approach. We also have a nationwide team of expert financial planners to help clients with all aspects of financial planning, including retirement planning.

We have won numerous awards including Stockbroker of the Year, Execution-only Stockbroker of the Year and Self-select ISA Provider of the Year 2015, as voted by readers of the Financial Times and Investors Chronicle. We are pleased that our greatest source of new business is personal referrals from existing clients.

Headquartered in Mayfair, London, Tilney Bestinvest employs over 400 staff across our network of offices, giving us full UK coverage, and we combine our award-winning research and expertise to provide a personalised service to clients whatever their investment needs.

The Tilney Bestinvest Group of Companies comprises the firms Bestinvest (Brokers) Ltd (Reg. No. 2830297), Tilney Investment Management (Reg. No. 02010520), Bestinvest (Consultants) Ltd (Reg. No. 1550116) and HW Financial Services Ltd (Reg. No. 02030706) all of which are authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. Registered office: 6 Chesterfield Gardens, Mayfair, W1J 5BQ.

For further information, please visit: www.tilneybestinvest.co.uk