Steve Webb

The government is to pay the tax bills of NHS workers caught out by changes to pension contribution limits who have been turning down additional work for fear of running up large tax bills.

Pensions are too complex an issue to discuss on the general election campaign trail. Steve Webb says this is probably a good thing.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) paid back over £54m in tax on pension withdrawals during the three months to 30 September – the highest quarterly amount since the introduction of Freedom and Choice in 2015.

Over £30bn has been withdrawn from pension pots since Freedom and Choice was introduced in 2015 for those aged over 55, according to latest data from HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC).

With the spectre of Brexit looming over parliament, Jonathan Stapleton has some scepticism that the pension schemes bill will be enacted any time soon.

The Office of Tax Simplification (OTS) has called on the government to review its “complicated” pension tax measures and simplify engagement with the system.

There needs to be wider access to partial transfers out of defined benefit (DB) schemes, according to a joint paper published by Royal London and Lane Clark & Peacock (LCP).

Pension transfers have passed the £60bn mark as more than a third of a million people access their defined benefit (DB) pots, a Freedom of Information (FOI) request has revealed.

It is time to reconsider this potential solution to the plethora of fragmented pots, says Sir Steve Webb.

HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) does not know how many people it has fined for breaching pension tax allowance rules, a Freedom of Information request has revealed.