PTM167600 - Information and administration: pension savings statements: changes to pension scheme rules
Glossary PTM000001
Regulations 14A and 14D The Registered Pension Schemes (Provision of Information) Regulations 2006 - SI 2006/567
A change to the rules of a pension scheme might result in existing pension input amounts for one or more tax years being recalculated.
That recalculation might then mean the scheme administrator has to provide a pension savings statement for a tax year when one had not previously been given for that tax year.
Alternatively, the recalculation might mean the conditions for giving a pension savings statement no longer apply for a tax year when one had previously been given for that tax year.
The tax years for which the recalculated pension input amounts apply
When a pension savings statement must be given
When pension savings statement-type information must be given
Extended deadline for scheme pays notices
The tax years for which the recalculated pension input amounts apply
A scheme administrator may need to give a pension savings statement, or pension savings statement-type information, for any of the current tax year and the 6 tax years immediately before the current tax year when:
- the rules of a pension scheme are changed
- as a result of that rule change, there is a change to a member’s pension input amount for the relevant tax year concerned.
For this purpose, the ‘current tax year’ means the tax year in which the rule change is made.
For example, a scheme administrator calculates a member’s pension input amount for tax year 2017 to 2018. In the 2023 to 2024 tax year, a change is made to the rules of the pension scheme that means the member’s pension input amount for 2017 to 2018 is recalculated. As the 2017 to 2018 tax year is one of the 6 tax years immediately before the current tax year (the current tax year in this example being 2023 to 2024), the scheme administrator must consider whether a pension savings statement or pension savings statement-type information must be given to the member for the 2017 to 2018 tax year.
When a pension savings statement must be given
Where a member’s pension input amount is recalculated for any of the current tax year and previous 6 tax years (see The tax years for which the recalculated pension input amounts apply above for what the current and previous 6 tax years means in practice) due to a change in the pension scheme rules and the conditions for giving a pension savings statement to the member are met for that tax year, the scheme administrator must give the member a pension savings statement for that tax year.
The pension savings statement should be given by the scheme administrator automatically.
For more information on the deadline for giving the pension savings statement see PTM161600.
When pension savings statement-type information must be given
Recalculating a member’s pension input amount for any of the current tax year and previous 6 tax years (see The tax years for which the recalculated pension input amounts apply above for what the current and previous 6 tax years means in practice) due to a change in the pension scheme rules might mean that the conditions for giving a pension savings statement are not met for the tax year in question.
However, the member may have already received a pension savings statement for that tax year as based on the pension input amount calculation without the pension scheme rules change. Where this occurs, as based on the recalculated pension input amount, the scheme administrator must provide the member with updated pension savings statement-type information.
The pensions savings statement-type information should be given by the scheme administrator automatically.
For more information on the deadlines for giving the updated pension savings statement-type information in these circumstances, see PTM167100.
Extended deadline for scheme pays notices
Sections 237B and 237BA Finance Act 2004
Where a member has an annual allowance charge and certain conditions are met, they can give their scheme administrator notice that they want the pension scheme to pay some or all of their annual allowance charge liability on their behalf to HMRC, or ‘Scheme Pays’. PTM056410 onwards has more information about ‘Scheme Pays’.
A member with a recalculated pension input amount due to a change in the pension scheme rules may be able to use the extended deadline for giving a ‘Scheme Pays’ notice where:
- the member’s pension input amount has changed for a tax year due to a change in the pension scheme rules
- before that changed pension input amount, the member had not met the conditions to use ‘Scheme Pays’ for the tax year in question
- because of the changed pension input amount, the conditions are met for the member to be able to use ‘Scheme Pays’ for the tax year in question.
For more information on the deadlines for giving a ‘Scheme Pays’ notice in these circumstances, see PTM056430.