Claiming tax back on a pension

dodgy_gooner

I am trying to claim some Tax back for a company pension I hold, I was not aware that I had to claim back the difference between standard rate tax and 40% tax from the Inland Revenue. I have had this pension for 9 years and I only found this out when advised of this by a colleage who had also just found out. When I contacted the IR they advised me that I could only claim the last 6 years (I thought at worst it was 7 years) and that I should have been putting this on my Tax Return which I have never had as a purely salaried employee.

I'm a little disapointed at the IR and my company as it's not clear you have to claim this back, it is tucked away in the small print in the T&C's of the pension but not in any of the summary points etc.

Any advice greatly appreciated.

dunstonh

I am trying to claim some Tax back for a company pension I hold

You dont have to claim the tax back on company pensions. The tax relief is handled via your payslip. Its just individual and group pensions where you have to do this.

I'm a little disapointed at the IR and my company as it's not clear you have to claim this back, it is tucked away in the small print in the T&C's of the pension but not in any of the summary points etc.

Self assessment means you tell the HMRC if anything extra needs to be paid or reclaimed. It is not their job to do it for you.

I am going to assume yours is not a company scheme but a group scheme. In which case, the key features document does state in the "What about tax?" section that you can claim higher rate relief through your tax return. Its not hidden in the small print and the key features document is typically a short document of just a few pages highlighting the key features. If you dont read the documentation and you dont employ an adviser (who would have told you) then you have to take the responsibility.

dodgy_gooner

Apologies, yes it is a group scheme but why should I employ and advisor when in effect it is my company scheme ? I will double check all of the documentation again to see if I am mistaken and report back if it is in the summary. It's also frustrating that the company I work for (A very large Financial organisation) keep changing their pension scheme and the information on mine is now almost impossible to get hold of...

Thanks.

dunstonh

but why should I employ and advisor when in effect it is my company scheme ?

It is not a company scheme. It is group personal pension. The paperwork is supplied to you and you decide if you a) want to read it or b) get an adviser to do that for you. or c) get the IFA in charge of the group scheme to do it (usually offered free of charge)

davey9998

if you haven't been doing self assessment then you will owe a lot of tax too on current account interest plus savings account interest and share dividend tax too