The government has now published the responses from its consultation on the proposed new ‘Individual Protection’ (IP14) scheme designed to safeguard a higher ‘lifetime allowance’ on pension contributions when the rate falls from £1.5m to £1.25m in April.

Individual Protection 2014 will allow doctors to protect the value of their pension rights as at 5 April 2014 up to a maximum of £1.5m. Importantly, you will still be able to accrue benefits through both occupational and private schemes without losing the protection. To qualify the value of your pension rights must exceed £1.25m at 5 April 2014.
Meanwhile, savers can also apply for the updated ‘Fixed Protection’ (FP14) which allows you to hold pensions’ savings of up to a fixed amount of £1.5m as long as there are no further pension accruals.

Applications for IP14 will be open from August 2014 until April 2017 but applications for FP14 close on 5 April this year so it is imperative to decide now which scheme is most appropriate for an individual’s circumstances.
While the three year window to apply for IP14 suggests there is plenty of time to gather information and complete applications, it is not the case. The results of this consultation have come very late in the day as crucial decisions must be taken well in advance of the coming April deadline.

Doctors with ‘enhanced protection’ (EP) – a form of tax protection for pension schemes first offered in 2006 – were originally blocked from registering for the new IP14 but following industry feedback as part of HMRC’s consultation, this restriction has now been lifted.