HMRC has finally opened its new online application scheme to help savers protect the value of their pension.

You may not realise that the newly reduced tax-free pensions savings limit of £1million could easily be breached even for middle-earners, particularly if accumulating benefits from the NHS scheme for several decades. A doctor in the 1995 NHS scheme with a predicted pension of just over £43K per year will easily hit the limit.

The government has introduced an updated pension protection scheme – Individual Protection 2016 – which can restore the value of your pension limits up to a maximum of £1.25million, provided your held pension savings in excess of £1million as at 5 April this year. Fixed Protection 2016 also became available with the new online system but may not be suitable for those that want to continue accruing pension benefits.

The launch of the long-awaited online applications for pension protection will mean more doctors can seek help with this issue. Excessive pension tax charges can be minimised with careful management.

Online applications are available at www.gov.uk but you will need an account for HMRC online services to use the system.

Are you able to apply to protect your pension? For more information, please contact one of our advisers on 020 7636 1006.