Question to the HM Treasury:

To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he has plans to enable people facing financial difficulties during the covid-19 outbreak to draw down more than one quarter of their pension early without incurring 40 per cent tax.

The Government wishes to encourage pension saving, to help ensure that people have an income, or funds on which they can draw, throughout retirement. This makes pensions tax relief one of the most expensive reliefs in the personal tax system. In 2017/18 income tax and employer National Insurance Contributions relief cost £54 billion.

The Government therefore imposes a charge on early withdrawals, which can be from 40% to 55% depending on the circumstances, both to recoup its investment through tax relief and to provide individuals with a strong incentive to save through their pension for the long-term.

It is for these reasons that the Government does not have any plans to remove tax on pension payments in response to this outbreak. As with all tax policy, this will be kept under review.