Pension savings tax charges 03 - Benefits in excess of your Available Lifetime Allowance, not taken as a lump sum

Lifetime allowance for pension schemes

You may be provided with benefits up to any level under your registered pension scheme or schemes. But where your benefit entitlement uses up more than your available lifetime allowance when you decide to take your benefits, turn 75 or transfer your pension overseas, there will be a tax charge on the excess.

Check if your pension savings exceed the lifetime allowance

The lifetime allowance applies to any pension savings you have in:

• a registered pension scheme
• an overseas pension scheme that qualifies for UK tax relief for either you or your employer on or after 5 April 2006

The lifetime allowance is currently £1,073,100 unless you have some form of protection giving you a higher lifetime allowance.

The lifetime allowance applies even if you're in a pension scheme that you do not make payments into - for example if you're in a workplace pension that only your employer makes payments into.

Allowance, not taken as a lump sum

If the benefits, or any part of the benefits which formed part of the excess over your Available Lifetime Allowance, were not paid to you as a lump sum, enter the value of those benefits.

You can find the figures on the statement of tax you received from your scheme. The statement will show how the tax was worked out.