Tax has never been a more heated political battleground. All parties appear to be looking at changing tax policies before setting out their official manifestos.

The Lib Dems have already announced plans to reduce the lifetime allowance (LTA) limiting total pensions savings to just £1m. This figure was only changed last year to £1.25m – in itself a 30% reduction from the limit three years ago. Other parties may feature similar plans.

Many more senior doctors will be caught out by this so-called stealth tax. The strict limit applies to an individual’s entire pension savings but can easily be breached by the NHS pension alone. Once the cap is reached, the tax rate on the excess is up to 55%.

Do you know where you stand with your combined NHS and private pensions? Are you likely to face a large tax bill?

The government’s pension protection plan – Individual Protection 2014 (IP14) – is now open for applications. This restores a personal LTA to the value of pensions benefits on 5 April 2014 (if they exceeded £1.25million, up to a maximum of £1.5million at that time). IP14 can be used even if you already hold Fixed or Enhanced Protection and there are no restrictions on the growth of future benefits.

The taxation of pension benefits is a particularly complex area where more senior doctors are coming unstuck through poor advice – either because their former advisers do not consider pension protection or do not wish to advise on the complex NHS pension.

Do you have the right protection in place? Call one of our advisers on 020 7636 7006 to ensure your pension savings will not become a tax burden.