Pensions: Tax Allowances
(asked on 27th June 2023) - View Source
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask His Majesty's Government how much (1) gross tax relief, and (2) National Insurance relief, was given to (a) Defined Benefit or hybrid pension scheme employers, (b) Defined Benefit or hybrid pension scheme members, (c) Defined Contribution workplace scheme employers, (d) Defined Contribution pension scheme auto-enrolment members, and (e) other Defined Contribution pension scheme members, in each of the past three years.
Estimates of the cost of Income Tax and National Insurance Contribution relief on total pension contributions made in 2020 to 2021 can be found in Tables 1 and 2 below. Figures are provided in millions and rounded to the nearest hundred million pounds. Hybrid defined contribution and defined benefit schemes are counted as defined benefit schemes for the purpose of this analysis.
HMRC do not publish estimates of total pension contributions.
Table 1: Income Tax relief on pension contributions in 2020 to 2021 by type of contribution, £million | ||
Income Tax relief in 2020 to 2021 [provisional] on: | Defined benefit scheme | Defined contribution scheme |
Individual contributions to net pay arrangements | 3,600 | 900 |
Individual contributions to relief at source schemes | 0 | 4,900 |
Salary sacrificed contributions | 1,100 | 3,600 |
Employer contributions to net pay arrangements | 16,800* | 4,100 |
Employer contributions to relief at source schemes | 0 | 5,900* |
Table 2: National Insurance Contribution (NIC) relief on pension contributions in 2020 to 2021 by type of contribution, £million | ||
NIC relief in 2020 to 2021 [provisional] on: | Defined benefit scheme | Defined contribution scheme |
Class 1 Primary (employee) NIC relief on employer contributions to net pay arrangements | 4,900* | 1,000 |
Class 1 Primary (employee) NIC relief on employer contributions to relief at source schemes | 0 | 1,500* |
Class 1 Primary (employee) NIC relief on salary sacrificed contributions | 300 | 800 |
Class 1 Secondary (employer) NIC relief on employer contributions to net pay arrangements | 8,200* | 1,800 |
Class 1 Secondary (employer) NIC relief on employer contributions to relief at source schemes | 0 | 2,700* |
Class 1 Secondary (employer) NIC relief on salary sacrificed contributions | 500 | 1,500 |
*These figures contain forecasts rather than being entirely based on outturn data sources.
Please note that the figures provided are estimates only.