Pensions - Articles - A way around current emergency tax on pension withdrawals

 Andrew Tully, technical director, Canada Life commented: “The figures continue to reinforce the complexity around the way tax is applied on flexible withdrawals, and after six years of freedoms is ripe for change. HMRC continues to adopt a cautionary approach which results in a hugely inefficient system of form filling and reclaiming.

 “Many people will be caught unawares by the way emergency tax is applied, receive less in their bank than they were expecting and so are likely to double-dip their pensions if they have a target amount in mind.

 “One way around the current system is to ask your pension provider for a small initial sum, say £100. That will trigger HMRC to provide the correct tax code to the pension company for any future withdrawals, effectively circumventing the form filling and awaiting refund scenario.”

 How do you know how much you are likely to pay on flexible pension withdrawals. Free online calculators are available to help including here: https://www.canadalife.co.uk/customer-tools/pension-tax-calculator/
  

 https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/pension-schemes-newsletter-127-february-2021/pension-schemes-newsletter-127-february-2021