Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether his Department has made an assessment of how often the annual tapered allowance results in a person being taxed more than 100 per cent of the earnings gained from additional sessions or responsibilities.

Pensions tax relief is one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. In 2016/17 income tax and employer National Insurance Contributions relief cost over £50 billion, with around two-thirds going to higher and additional rate taxpayers.

The tapered annual allowance is therefore focussed on the highest-earning savers, to ensure that the benefit they receive is not disproportionate to that of other pension savers. Less than one per cent of pension savers will have to reduce their saving or face an annual allowance charge as a result of the tapered annual allowance.

For those who incur annual allowance tax charges, the charge recoups the excess tax relief on the benefits that they have accrued in that year above their annual allowance. The charge is levied at an individual’s marginal rate. For example, an individual with a salary above £150,000 would be taxed at 45% on pension accrual above their annual allowance.

It is not possible to estimate the precise effects of the tapered annual allowance on an individual’s total remuneration without knowing their specific circumstances.