How do Relief at Source pensions work?

21 Mar 2024

Relief at source is one of the methods through which you can receive tax relief on your pension contributions. It's a system where a portion of your taxes are redirected into your pension pot, essentially decreasing your tax bill and increasing your retirement savings.

How Relief at Source Works

Here’s a simple breakdown of how relief at source functions:

  1. Contributions are Made from Post-Tax Income
    Whether you're employed or self-employed, your pension contributions are deducted from your after-tax salary. This means your employer takes your pension contribution from your salary after it has been taxed.

  2. Claiming the Tax Relief
    Your pension provider then plays a crucial role. They automatically claim tax relief at the basic rate of 20% from the government on your behalf. This amount is then directly added to your pension pot, lifting your total savings.

  3. Additional Relief for Higher Rate Taxpayers
    If you pay tax at a higher rate (above 20%), you can claim further tax relief through your tax return or directly from HMRC.

  4. Universal Benefit
    One of the perks of relief at source is that even non-taxpayers receive the 20% tax relief on contributions (up to a certain limit).

The TLDR

Relief at source provides an automatic boost to your pension contributions through the basic rate tax relief. It provides a straightforward way to receive tax relief on pension contributions without any hassle.

Most personal pension schemes and many workplace pension schemes operate Relief at Source mechanisms.

Remember, managing your pensions effectively really helps maximise your benefits. Consider using services like Penny to consolidate your old workplace pensions into one account, making it easier to view, manage and invest your retirement savings.

SOME IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Pensions are long terms investments. It’s important that you know the value of your investment could go up as well as down. You could get back less than you put in. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future and pension investing is not intended to be a short-term option. Penny does not provide financial advice so please be sure that this investment is right for you.

Your current pension might have special benefits that will be lost if you transfer to Penny. These special benefits include: Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR), Guaranteed Bonus Rate (GBR), Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) and Protected Tax Free Cash (PFTC) over 25%. If this is the case, we will not transfer your pension, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

Your current provider might charge you a transfer-fee to transfer your pension to Penny. If this is the case, we will not transfer your pension, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

You should consider the charges and benefits before transferring your old pensions to your new plan, and consider whether the risk and reward profile of the investments offered matches your needs. It may be that your current provider has lower fees than Penny - where this is the case, we recommend that you carefully consider whether to transfer your pension to Penny, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

If you are in any doubt about proceeding you should contact a financial adviser.
© Copyright 2024 Penny Technology Limited. Company registration: 11999643. FCA Reference Number: 931299.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Pensions are long terms investments. It’s important that you know the value of your investment could go up as well as down. You could get back less than you put in. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future and pension investing is not intended to be a short-term option. Penny does not provide financial advice so please be sure that this investment is right for you.

Your current pension might have special benefits that will be lost if you transfer to Penny. These special benefits include: Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR), Guaranteed Bonus Rate (GBR), Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) and Protected Tax Free Cash (PFTC) over 25%. If this is the case, we will not transfer your pension, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

Your current provider might charge you a transfer-fee to transfer your pension to Penny. If this is the case, we will not transfer your pension, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

You should consider the charges and benefits before transferring your old pensions to your new plan, and consider whether the risk and reward profile of the investments offered matches your needs. It may be that your current provider has lower fees than Penny - where this is the case, we recommend that you carefully consider whether to transfer your pension to Penny, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

If you are in any doubt about proceeding you should contact a financial adviser.
© Copyright 2024 Penny Technology Limited. Company registration: 11999643. FCA Reference Number: 931299.
SOME IMPORTANT THINGS YOU SHOULD KNOW
Pensions are long terms investments. It’s important that you know the value of your investment could go up as well as down. You could get back less than you put in. Past performance is not necessarily a guide to the future and pension investing is not intended to be a short-term option. Penny does not provide financial advice so please be sure that this investment is right for you.

Your current pension might have special benefits that will be lost if you transfer to Penny. These special benefits include: Guaranteed Annuity Rate (GAR), Guaranteed Bonus Rate (GBR), Guaranteed Minimum Pension (GMP) and Protected Tax Free Cash (PFTC) over 25%. If this is the case, we will not transfer your pension, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

Your current provider might charge you a transfer-fee to transfer your pension to Penny. If this is the case, we will not transfer your pension, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

You should consider the charges and benefits before transferring your old pensions to your new plan, and consider whether the risk and reward profile of the investments offered matches your needs. It may be that your current provider has lower fees than Penny - where this is the case, we recommend that you carefully consider whether to transfer your pension to Penny, as you may be better off not transferring in these cases.

If you are in any doubt about proceeding you should contact a financial adviser.
© Copyright 2024 Penny Technology Limited. Company registration: 11999643. FCA Reference Number: 931299.