Guidance

Newsletter 145 — November 2022

Published 30 November 2022

Public service pensions remedy newsletter

On 25 November we published the first public service pensions remedy newsletter, with links to draft regulations for consultation and draft guidance.

Further information can be found in the Public Services Pension Schemes (Rectification of Unlawful Discrimination) (Tax) Regulations 2023).

Managing Pension Schemes service

You need to take action to migrate your pension schemes to the Managing Pension Schemes service.

In Managing Pension Schemes service newsletter — April 2022 we let you know that pension scheme administrators can now migrate pension schemes from the Pension Schemes Online service to the Managing Pension Schemes service.

If you’re migrating pension schemes, you should select ‘Add a pension scheme from the Pension Schemes Online service’ and select each scheme you need to migrate. You should not select ‘Apply to register a new pension scheme’. If you’ve incorrectly tried to re-register an existing pension scheme that you’re an administrator for, please email migration.mps@hmrc.gov.uk and put ‘Incorrect scheme registration’ in the subject line.

Find further guidance on migrating your pension schemes to the Managing Pension Schemes service.

Enrolling on the Managing Pension Schemes service

In order to be able to migrate pension schemes, there are actions you may need to take.

Scheme administrators:

• must be enrolled on the Managing Pension Schemes service using their existing ‘A0’ administrator ID

• with multiple scheme administrator IDs will need to have enrolled on the Managing Pension Schemes service using their ‘master’ ID

Viewing your list of pension schemes

Once you’ve enrolled and you have access to the Managing Pension Schemes service, you’ll be able to see a list of your schemes. Only pension schemes with a status of ‘open’ on the Pension Schemes Online service will be included on the list. If you can see schemes on your list that are inactive and should be wound up, you’ll need to submit an Event Report or email migration.mps@hmrc.gov.uk using ‘Managing pension schemes — Wound Up Schemes’ in the subject line.

If you cannot see listed all the schemes that you have registered on the Pension Schemes Online service or can see schemes listed that you do not recognise, you’ll need to email migration.mps@hmrc.gov.uk using ‘Managing Pension Schemes — Incorrect list of schemes’ in the subject line.

In both instances you’ll need to include:

• the pensions scheme tax reference (PSTR)
• the name of the pension scheme
• your pension scheme administrator ID
• details about why you think your list is incorrect
• the date of wind up (if appropriate)

Managing user accesses

Once you’ve enrolled for the Managing Pension Schemes service, you will need to make sure that you assign the service through your business tax account to any of your other business tax account administrators or standard users, that use the same scheme administrator or practitioner ID.

You can assign access to services through your business tax account on the assign services page under ‘Manage Account’ and then ‘Team member account access’. You must do this before they sign in to use the Managing Pension Schemes service.

Assigning the service to your administrators and practitioners before they sign in, will help prevent the service from treating them as a new scheme administrator or practitioner and asking them again for the enrolment information that you’ve already completed. If they complete a second enrolment under the same scheme administrator or practitioner ID, it could prevent you and any of your users from being able to access the service.

You can find guidance on how to set up different users and assign them access to both the Managing Pension Schemes service and Pension Schemes Online service.

Viewing interest charges

On the Managing Pension Schemes service, you’ll be able to view details of any accruing interest for outstanding charges that are interest bearing.

You’ll only receive an interest charge when and where the:

• charge has been paid in full
• value of the interest charge is £25 or more

This means that you may see interest accruing whilst a charge remains outstanding, but once paid, if the total interest is below £25, no interest charge will be shown on the scheme record.

If an interest charge has been created, you’ll receive an interest notice and you’ll be able to view details of the charge, including the charge reference, on the Managing Pensions Schemes service.

Use the charge reference given for the interest charge when making payment, to make sure payment is correctly allocated.

Accounting for Tax (AFT) returns

You can no longer compile and submit new Accounting for Tax (AFT) returns for any quarter from 1 April 2020 onwards on the Pension Schemes Online service. If you need to submit any new AFT returns for any quarter from 1 April 2020 onwards, you’ll need to migrate the pension scheme.

If you need to submit a return for the quarter 1 October 2022 to 31 December 2022, you’ll need to have migrated your pension scheme and submitted the return on the Managing Pension Schemes service by the filing deadline of 14 February 2023 to avoid interest and penalties.

Find information on how to submit an AFT return using the Managing Pension Schemes service.

Annual allowance

Members declaring their annual allowance charge on their Self Assessment tax return

We’d like to ask you as scheme administrators to remind your members who have exceeded their annual allowance for tax year 2021 to 2022, and who do not have sufficient unused annual allowance to carry forward to cover the excess, to declare this on their Self Assessment tax return — even if your scheme is paying the tax charge.

The Pension savings — tax charges (Self Assessment helpsheet HS345) has specific information on declaring the annual allowance charge on Self Assessment returns.

Your members can also find information and guidance about:

• their annual allowance
• carrying forward unused annual allowance 
• paying and declaring the annual allowance charge

They can also use our pension annual allowance calculator.