USS Personal Allowance Calculation - any advice please

Asimovs_nightfall

How do I work out what I have left in my personal allowance (max is £60,000) if I retire at the end of this month?   Is there a calculation I can make?

The USS Contributions & Tax Calculator allows me to model against the Annual Allowance, but does this for a full year. I suppose I could divide by 3, (four months, April to July), but I’m not sure what this would give me other than a figure divided by 3!  

The reason that I am asking is that I have a part time job lined up and wondered what I can contribute to a personal pension.

Any advice is very welcome!

gwt1965

A couple of weeks before your retirement date, USS will send you a confirmation of benefits letter. That letter should include a figure showing your total pension input amount for the current tax year (RIB and IB), from which you can work out any remaining Annual Allowance. 

Asimovs_nightfall

I’ve resurrected this thread for some further advice if possible please. This is a Voluntary Severance plus pension query. I’ve left the university and took a part time job and I’m trying to work out what I can put into a personal pension while I’m working.

 

I have the following 25/26 year figures (illustrative): 

Taxable earnings until leaving at £20000

Taxable earnings in new position at £10000

Total taxable earnings = £30000

 

From my pension documents, Annual Allowance (AA) Values:

AA Income Builder benefits at £15000

Investment Builder contributions at £10000

Total pension input amount = £25000

Q1. Does this mean I only have £5000 allowance left to input into a personal pension?

And now for further complication.

My final payslip and P45 says that my total taxable earnings for the year are (illustrative) £20000 plus the severance payment of £25000.

Q2. Is my allowance calculated from this, meaning a total taxable earnings of £55000?

Can anyone please offer some advice on this?

TIA.

Asimovs_nightfall

Just bumping this in the hope that someone can help, our USS experts perhaps or others who know about personal allowance.  
Thanks

Dazed_and_C0nfused

Asimovs_nightfall said:

Just bumping this in the hope that someone can help, our USS experts perhaps or others who know about personal allowance.  
Thanks

You keep referring to the Personal Allowance, currently £12,570 for most people, but do you really mean the pension annual allowance, which is currently £60,000?

DRS1

Q1 Probably not but how are the Investment Builder contributions paid?  Is it by salary sacrifice or are they all employee contributions?  If salary sacrifice then you have 35k of AA left and can contribute up to 30k gross from a tax relief point of view.

Q2 Is the severance payment taxed?  Isn't there a 30k tax free payment allowed (for redundancy).  I suspect that would not count as relevant earnings for pension contribution purposes but I haven't checked that.

Asimovs_nightfall

Dazed_and_C0nfused said:

Asimovs_nightfall said:

Just bumping this in the hope that someone can help, our USS experts perhaps or others who know about personal allowance.  
Thanks

You keep referring to the Personal Allowance, currently £12,570 for most people, but do you really mean the pension annual allowance, which is currently £60,000?

Thanks. The Annual Allowance for a person pension is what I am referring to. I'm trying to ascertain what it is because of what is construed as taxable earnings when there is Salary A + Voluntary Severance (taxable portion) + Salary B.

Asimovs_nightfall

DRS1 said:

Q1 Probably not but how are the Investment Builder contributions paid?  Is it by salary sacrifice or are they all employee contributions?  If salary sacrifice then you have 35k of AA left and can contribute up to 30k gross from a tax relief point of view.

Q2 Is the severance payment taxed?  Isn't there a 30k tax free payment allowed (for redundancy).  I suspect that would not count as relevant earnings for pension contribution purposes but I haven't checked that.

Thanks. Re Q1, Yes use salary sacrifice, but AVCs make up most of the IB contribution over this financial year. Is there a way to calculate difference?

Re Q2, I'm referring only to the taxable portion of the VS, for illustrative purposes and whether this counts as earnings for pension contribution purposes.

Any comments appreciated.

QrizB

Asimovs_nightfall said:
Re Q2, I'm referring only to the taxable portion of the VS, for illustrative purposes and whether this counts as earnings for pension contribution purposes.

Yes it does.

DRS1

Asimovs_nightfall said:

DRS1 said:

Q1 Probably not but how are the Investment Builder contributions paid?  Is it by salary sacrifice or are they all employee contributions?  If salary sacrifice then you have 35k of AA left and can contribute up to 30k gross from a tax relief point of view.

Q2 Is the severance payment taxed?  Isn't there a 30k tax free payment allowed (for redundancy).  I suspect that would not count as relevant earnings for pension contribution purposes but I haven't checked that.

Thanks. Re Q1, Yes use salary sacrifice, but AVCs make up most of the IB contribution over this financial year. Is there a way to calculate difference?

Re Q2, I'm referring only to the taxable portion of the VS, for illustrative purposes and whether this counts as earnings for pension contribution purposes.

Any comments appreciated.

Sorry but are you saying the AVCs are NOT paid via salary sacrifice?  But other employee contributions are?  If so I think there'd be two different lines on your payslips.   But why wouldn't they use salary sacrifice for the whole lot?

@QrizB has answered the other point but this may help as well

Redundancy Payments - Pension Contributions - Royal London for advisers

Asimovs_nightfall

DRS1 said:

Asimovs_nightfall said:

DRS1 said:

Q1 Probably not but how are the Investment Builder contributions paid?  Is it by salary sacrifice or are they all employee contributions?  If salary sacrifice then you have 35k of AA left and can contribute up to 30k gross from a tax relief point of view.

Q2 Is the severance payment taxed?  Isn't there a 30k tax free payment allowed (for redundancy).  I suspect that would not count as relevant earnings for pension contribution purposes but I haven't checked that.

Thanks. Re Q1, Yes use salary sacrifice, but AVCs make up most of the IB contribution over this financial year. Is there a way to calculate difference?

Re Q2, I'm referring only to the taxable portion of the VS, for illustrative purposes and whether this counts as earnings for pension contribution purposes.

Any comments appreciated.

Sorry but are you saying the AVCs are NOT paid via salary sacrifice?  But other employee contributions are?  If so I think there'd be two different lines on your payslips.   But why wouldn't they use salary sacrifice for the whole lot?

@QrizB has answered the other point but this may help as well

Redundancy Payments - Pension Contributions - Royal London for advisers

Thanks. Those links are useful and provide the answer to my main question. The AVCs/SalSac important as they are, are the lesser priority for me just now.

I appreciate all the comments and advice.