Asked by: Ruth Cadbury (Labour - Brentford and Isleworth)
Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what assessment has she made of the potential impact of the Government's policy on NHS pension taxation on workforce numbers in NHS England.
Answered by Will Quince
Tax policy is a matter for the Chancellor, and the annual and lifetime allowances apply to all industries and occupational pension schemes.
The vast majority of NHS staff are able to build pensions tax-free. However, the generosity of the scheme and well-remunerated careers means that some senior clinicians exceed their allowances for tax-free saving.
The Government has previously delivered a manifesto commitment to solve the taper issue in doctors’ pensions, by increasing the tapered annual allowance thresholds by £90,000 to exclude 98% of GPs and 96% of consultants from the scope of the taper based on NHS earnings. Pension tax should not impact on take home pay and the Scheme Pays facility allows members to meet a tax charge from the value of their pension pot.
We are working with NHS England to ensure that NHS employers are able to offer local solutions to address pension tax issues for their clinicians, including the option of employer pension contribution recycling.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people recorded by HMRC as earning below the Personal Allowance for taxable income who contributed to a workplace pension using ‘relief at source’ tax relief in all tax years since 2017; and of this number, how many were (1) women, and (2) men.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HMRC estimate that 1.3m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using relief at source arrangements. About 65% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 35% are estimated to be male.
The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.
HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available.
As indicated in HMRC’s statistics announcement, the 2018-19 Personal Incomes Statistics (Distributional analysis) is expected to be published on 31 March 2021 and the Personal Incomes Statistics (Regional analysis) is expected to be published on 28 April 2021.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what estimate they have made of the number of people recorded by HMRC as earning below the Personal Allowance for taxable income who contributed to a workplace pension using ‘net pay’ tax relief in all tax years since 2017; and of this number, how many were (1) women, and (2) men.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HMRC estimates that 1.5m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using net pay arrangements. Around 75% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 25% are estimated to be male.
The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.
HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available. The SPI is updated annually.
As indicated in HMRC’s statistics announcement, the 2018-19 Personal Incomes Statistics (Distributional analysis) is expected to be published on 31 March 2021 and the Personal Incomes Statistics (Regional analysis) is expected to be published on 28 April 2021.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government what plans they have to publish the results of their call for evidence on pensions tax relief administration, and in particular those relating to the issue of low earners paying 25 per cent extra for their pension if their employer chooses to use a ‘net pay’ auto-enrolment pension scheme.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced it would launch a Call for Evidence on pensions tax relief administration, in line with its manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue.
This Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the RAS method.
The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what progress his Department has made on responding to its consultation on pensions tax relief administration; and what the timeframe is for publishing a response to that consultation.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced it would launch a Call for Evidence on pensions tax relief administration, in line with its manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue.
This Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the RAS method.
The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent assessment he has made of the effect of the administration of pensions tax relief on low-income workers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced it would launch a Call for Evidence on pensions tax relief administration, in line with its manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue.
This Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the RAS method.
The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what recent estimate he has made of the number of low-income workers with reduced take-home pay following application of pensions tax relief by pension scheme operators.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
HMRC has estimated the number of individuals earning below the personal allowance and making workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using net pay arrangements.
For 2017-18, when the personal allowance was £11,500, HMRC estimate the number of individuals to be 1.5 million.
HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available.
Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, whether he plans to bring forward legislative proposals to amend net pay pension schemes to ensure that people earning below the personal tax threshold can access their full tax relief entitlement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced it would launch a Call for Evidence on pensions tax relief administration, in line with its manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue.
This Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the RAS method.
The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Neil Gray (Scottish National Party - Airdrie and Shotts)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer, what steps he is taking with Chancellor of the Exchequer to resolve net pay tax issues for low-income workers; and if he will make a statement.
Answered by John Glen - Paymaster General and Minister for the Cabinet Office
The Government recognises the different impacts of the two systems of paying pension tax relief on pension contributions for workers earning below the personal allowance. At Budget 2020, the Government announced it would launch a Call for Evidence on pensions tax relief administration, in line with its manifesto commitment to undertake a comprehensive review of this issue.
This Call for Evidence set out the Government’s views on proposals already put forward by stakeholders, invited further proposals, and sought views on the operation of the RAS method.
The Call for Evidence is now closed. The Government is analysing the responses and will respond in due course.
Asked by: Baroness Altmann (Conservative - Life peer)
Question to the HM Treasury:
To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer by Lord Agnew of Oulton on 31 March (HL2729), how many people, recorded in HMRC’s Real Time Information records as earning below the personal tax threshold, were contributing at work to a pension scheme using the Relief at Source method of income tax relief in the tax years after 2016; and, of these, how many were (1) women, and (2) men.
Answered by Lord Agnew of Oulton
HMRC estimate that 1.3m individuals earning below the personal allowance in 2017-18 made workplace pension contributions via Real Time Information (RTI) using relief at source arrangements. About 65% of these individuals are estimated to be female and 35% are estimated to be male.
The personal allowance in 2017-18 was £11,500.
HMRC’s Survey of Personal Income (SPI) and administrative data was used to produce the estimates. The 2017-18 SPI data (published in March 2020) is the latest year available. The SPI is updated annually.