auto enrolment

In the run-up to the Spring Budget, there were expectations that this could be the most significant budget for pensions since the freedom and choice reforms announced in the Budget 2014 – and the Chancellor certainly didn’t disappoint in that regard.

The announcements made by the Chancellor in the Spring Budget will have far-reaching implications for high earners. We break down the key announcements below and explain what they mean for employers and their workforce.

• Pension Annual Allowance will increase from £40k to £60k – the pension annual allowance (AA) is the total amount of money that can be paid into the pension in any tax year without the member/employee incurring a tax charge. This includes both Employer and Employee contributions. It was either £40,000 or 100% of total earnings – whichever is lower. But it’s now going up to a maximum of £60,000 on 6 April 2023. 

• Tapered Annual Allowance will increase from £4k to £10k – certain higher earners may be impacted by a tapered annual allowance, which gradually reduces the amount you can save into a pension plan each tax year depending on your earnings. The Chancellor has now confirmed that the tapering won’t reduce the allowance to any lower than £10,000 (previously set to £4,000).

• Money Purchase Annual Allowance (MPAA) will increase from £4k to £10k – when an individual starts to drawdown or cash in the taxable part of their pension, MPAA is triggered. This means the individual will see their annual allowance reduced from £40,000 to £4,000 each tax year. The MPAA is now going up from £4,000 to £10,000 – making it easier for people to keep working and saving once they’ve started taking money from their pension.  

• Lifetime allowance (LTA) will be removed entirely  – LTA is the total savings you can build up in all your pensions in your lifetime. Previously, the LTA limit was set to £1,073,100. This meant those who exceeded this limit would be liable to a tax charge of up to 55% on the amount over the allowance. The Chancellor announced that the lifetime allowance would be removed completely, and no one would face a lifetime allowance tax charge from 6 April 2023.

An important consideration for employers

Each of these changes on their own would see many people positively impacted when it comes to pension savings:

• The Pensions Annual Allowance and Tapered Annual Allowance boost will benefit many higher-paid workers.

• The increase to the Money Purchase Annual Allowance will directly benefit many people who’ve had to dip into their pension due to the cost-of-living crisis whilst still working, allowing them to contribute more into their pension to refill their pension pot without fear of a tax charge.

• Abolishing the Lifetime Allowance opens doors to use pensions to pass on unlimited amounts of wealth, tax efficiently, to the next generation.

Employers will need to consider how the announcements could impact employee behaviour as they look to maximise the benefits of these changes and their employee benefits offerings. This could include (but is not limited to):

• dealing with re-enrolment requests
• managing employee requests to increase contributions, including ad hoc payments into their pension plans.
• reviewing life insurance arrangements
• reviewing benefits employers have offered to higher earners, particularly those higher earners previously impacted by the Lifetime and/or Annual Allowance.

As employees grapple with how to maximise savings in the new system, employers could benefit from greater support in balancing the opportunities and risks and ensuring their valued workforce have access to the support needed to understand the changes and its implications to get the best outcomes.

Need some help navigating these pension announcements?

Pensions can be complex; however,  our business growth experts can support you and your employees.

For more information about unburdening your business from payroll and pension compliance visit our SMART Employment page and read more about supporting your employees’ financial wellbeing, emotional wellbeing and physical wellbeing.

Amrik Birdi, Pension Consultant at Growth Partners

Amrik has a wealth of knowledge in pensions having joined Growth Partners from KPMG where he was responsible for advising companies and trustees on independent DC provider procurement exercises, DC investment strategy review, DC pensions strategy review, automatic enrolment compliance, and meeting ongoing governance requirements. Amrik spent three years before this as a Pensions Guidance Specialist at Pensions Wise helping members understand their pension and retirement options, empowering them to take control of their retirement journey. With a Diploma in Regulated Financial Planning and Certificate in DC Governance, combined with a Degree in Economics, Amrik is a fully qualified pensions consultant and able to offer strategic support to our clients on their options for workplace pension schemes and auto-enrolment.

A simple three-step guide: estimate, calculate and plan

Deciding how and when to retire is one of the most significant life decisions. Longer life expectancy, volatile investment markets, ever-changing regulations, and the various options for withdrawing your pension can make retirement seem understandably daunting.
On top of this, the concept of ‘retiring’ is open to interpretation: for some, retirement plans involve spending time with family, holidays abroad and home renovations. Others might consider working part-time and pursuing phased retirement, or prioritising a lifelong hobby or passion.

Our simple three-step guide: ‘estimate, calculate and plan’ will help you prepare for your retirement, whatever your plans may be.

ESTIMATE

Estimate your annual cost of living. Future expenses can be hard to predict; you can reach a ballpark figure by doing the following:

1. Review your current regular outgoings (household expenses, travel and leisure, mortgage/rent payments)
2. Subtract any expenses you no longer expect to have in retirement
3. Consider any anticipated/planned expenses (travel plans or replacing a car, for example) or future costs that may come up

Various online calculators can help you estimate your total annual living costs. The budget planner from the government’s MoneyHelper website is one such example.
An alternative way to estimate your cost of living in retirement is to use ‘The Retirement Living Standards’ by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association. This guide forecasts what retirement life may look like based on three annual income categories:

Source: Home – PLSA – Retirement Living Standards

CALCULATE

Calculate your retirement pot – it is important to consider all sources of income when approaching retirement. You will need to factor the following into your expected pension pot:

1. State Pension – most people will be entitled to a government-provided State Pension from age 66 (rising to 67 between 2026 and 2028). To check how much State Pension you can get and when you should expect to receive it, you can visit Check your State Pension forecast – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and follow the online instructions.
2. Workplace Pension – check how much you have accumulated in your workplace pension through your employer.
3. Other Pensions – check how much you have accumulated in private pensions or pensions established under different employers. If you need to find contact details for a lost pension (workplace or personal), you can visit Find pension contact details – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk) and follow the online instructions.
4. Other investments – you should also consider other forms of income down the line, for example, individual saving accounts (ISAs), investments (including property rental income) and any potential inheritance.

PLAN

Plan to reach your retirement goals – this is a two-step process. Step 1 – Once you have totalled up your savings and various sources of income, it’s time to estimate your expected income.

1. Pension income – there are various pension calculators available online that can estimate the income you’ll get when you retire. You can use MoneyHelper’s pension calculator by visiting Use our pension calculator | MoneyHelper and following the online instructions.
2. Investment income – various investment calculators are available online to help you calculate what your investments will be worth in the future. It’s best to use the investment calculator of the provider with whom you have invested.

This will then help you project the value of your pension and investments when you reach retirement age.
Step 2 is to determine whether these projections match your estimated annual cost of living.

Don’t worry if your initial projections don’t match your estimated annual cost of living in retirement. There are various options available to you. Working with a financial advisor or retirement planner can help you develop a plan that aligns with your retirement goals. To find an advisor near you, please visit Match with your professional adviser | Unbiased.co.uk.

It’s now becoming a cliché to write that people aren’t engaged with their pensions, or that members don’t feel connected to their pensions. However, as with all cliches, there is an element of truth – Aon’s DC pension and financial wellbeing employee research 2021 shows that 71% of the people surveyed have not set a goal for how much they need to save before they can retire, and 87% are expecting a shortfall in retirement income.

So why are people not engaged with their pensions – the key source of income that will provide for them once they have finished their working lives? Here are some of the typical responses from members:

How has the industry responded to improving member engagement?

Pension providers have responded by developing and/or revamping ‘tools’ including pension apps, modelling-tools, ‘micro-sites’, personalised videos and video annual benefit statements, to name just a few. Pension providers in the UK have also responded by offering more pension investment choices (outside of the default option) or lower charges to make their proposition more competitive.

A Pension Paradox

The pension industry’s response seems to have created a pension paradox. We understand member engagement with pensions is low – we know possible reasons for low member engagement – pension providers have developed solutions/tools in response – but member engagement is still just as low!

Missing piece to the puzzle to drive engagement with pensions – Target

We believe the pension paradox exists because there is a missing piece to this jigsaw – a Target. The reason why members don’t engage with their pension is because, while members are given access to a host of ‘pension tools’ from their pension provider, none of them explicitly help members to set a target for their retirement, especially in a way which resonates with them.

According to a survey by the Pensions and Lifetime Savings Association (PLSA), 70% of savers say that targets would help them save more. By target, we mean a target retirement income level. Take the PLSA’s Retirement Living Standards: pitched at three levels, this can guide members to target precisely what their retirement could look like (and retirement costs). Help members set a target, via financial wellbeing workshops and sessions, and make the pension target really personal, and member engagement could suddenly look very different. This can also help members see if they are on track to live the retirement they envisage, and if not, what they can do ‘now’ to bring them back on track.

Although the responsibility lies with the employee, there’s still a big role employers can play to help employees achieve a retirement worth having – and as pension specialists we’re here to help.

Do you need help with your pension engagement from pension specialists?

To find out more about how the team of pension specialists at Growth Partners can help you with your pension member engagement, please feel free to get in touch with us today.

You can’t hit a target you cannot see, and you cannot see a target you do not have – Zig Ziglar.