Sipp to claim back tax

sharpecat

My husband is shortly to be made redundant and part of his redundancy payment £18k falls into the 40% tax bracket. He does not intend to work anymore (aged 52.5 years) and intends to draw his occupational pension at 55.
To try to claw the tax back. Is it a good idea to place £13k (+ tax back) in a sipp giving a total of £15.6k and take income drawdown at 55? is this legal?
Or are there other options he should consider.

kidmugsy

sharpecat wrote: »

part of his redundancy payment £18k falls into the 40% tax bracket. ...
To try to claw the tax back. Is it a good idea to place £13k (+ tax back) in a sipp giving a total of £15.6k and take income drawdown at 55? is this legal?

Yup, perfectly legal. I did it.

noh

Is it a good idea to place £13k (+ tax back) in a sipp giving a total of
£15.6k

Yes but you should recheck your calculations.
If you place £13K in a sipp your gross contribution will be £16.25K

20% tax relief is claimed from HMRC by the pension provider. Your contribution represents 80% of the gross amount.