This week HMRC have released their latest Pension Schemes newsletter - number 136, with some key changes and important information for employers and pension scheme managers and trustees. The newsletter includes:
- Relief at source – notification of residency status
- Normal minimum pension age (NMPA)
- Extension to some of the temporary changes to relief at source processes
- Maintaining qualifying recognised overseas pension schemes (QROPS) status
- 5.Pension flexibility statistics
- 6.Managing Pension Schemes service
- 7.Scheme Pays reporting
The second item is probably the most important requiring review. HMRC are able to provide further information on the increase in the normal minimum pension age from 6 April 2028 and the new 2028 protection framework. This information is provisional and subject to the legislation in Finance Bill (No.2) 2021 to 2022, obtaining Royal Assent and guidance being published in the Pensions Tax Manual.
The bill introduces an increase in the NMPA from age 55 to 57 from 6 April 2028. Members of certain uniformed service pension schemes (for example, firefighters, police and armed forces) are exempt from the increase in NMPA, and there are no changes for those who already have an existing protected pension age from age 55 or below.
The bill also introduces a new protection framework for members of registered pension schemes, giving them such a right to take their entitlement to benefits under those schemes before age 57, if on or before 4 November 2021 they either:
- had an unqualified right
- were in the process of a substantive transfer to a scheme
To benefit from new 2028 protection, the rules of the pension scheme must have included (on 11 February 2021) an unqualified right to take the entitlement to scheme benefits before age 57. For members with a 2028 protection there are different restrictions on retaining a protected pension age following a block or individual transfer.
Full details of the newsletter can be found here:
