Has your Lifetime Allowance or Annual Allowance tax position changed as a result of remedy?
If it has you will need to use the HMRC Member Tax Adjustment Calculator which is available on the gov.uk website (see links below under related information).
Also published below is a factsheet to help members understand unauthorised payments and the impact remedy may have on them.
Please note: The HMRC Member Tax Calculator has been offline since 11 April 2024.
HMRC have issued a newsletter to update their position on when the calculator will be available again, and have confirm that this will not be until September 2024. This is to allow them to continue carrying out detailed testing, and whilst they have been working on the changes, they have identified other opportunities to improve the customer journey.
What should members do now?
We know that some members will look to use the calculator twice,
- Firstly, to help inform your tax position so you can decide between legacy or reformed scheme benefits and,
- Then again when you have made your election, to submit the revised position to HMRC.
Where members are using the calculator upon receipt of an estimate or their retirement options you can use the Annual Allowance calculator: –
www.tax.service.gov.uk/pension-annual-allowance-calculator
The annual allowance calculator will provide you with details of the amount that is subject to a tax charge for each year, however it is unable to:
- Calculate the tax charge due based on the marginal rate or,
- Take account of any charges previously paid and make any adjustments for either compensation or increased tax charge.
Members who have had or are likely to have a tax charge will have been provided with a Notional Remediable Pensionable Saving Statement (NR-PSS), which gives the original position of what tax charges were paid by the scheme. With this information you will be able to assess your revised position, which will enable you to make a choice of remedy benefits.
Member submissions
If you have made a choice for your remedy benefits, and you need to submit the changes to HMRC, this can be done by a manual process direct with a dedicated HMRC remedy team. In the first instance, you should send an email to publicservicepensionsremedy@hmrc.gov.uk, using “PSPR submission - Fire” as the subject line, alternatively you can call 0300 123 1079 (option 1).
Within the body of the email, you should make it clear that you need to make a remedy submission for the Firefighters’ Pension Scheme, providing the following details:
- full name,
- email address, and
- telephone number
A member of the dedicated HMRC remedy team will then contact you and go through the manual submission process, this will involve you completing a manual submission form and you will need to have the relevant PSTR numbers along with the information listed on GOV.UK webpages (see links below).
PSTR Numbers:
FPS 1992: 00330012RP
FPS 2006: 00677944RB
FPS 2015: 00821661RL
When the service is reinstated it will allow you to:
- work out any repayments you are due for a lifetime allowance or annual allowance charge you have previously paid.
- work out new, reduced or extra lifetime allowance or annual allowance charges that you may have to pay.
- submit information for HMRC to review.
To use this service you will need your:
- pension savings statement (PSS), including any revised statements you have been sent.
- Self Assessment tax returns if you filed them.
- P60s and records of income dating back to the tax year 2015 to 2016.
- retirement statement or a benefit crystallisation event statement, if applicable.
You will also need details of any public service pension schemes you were a member of between 6 April 2015 to 5 April 2022 (the remedy period) and the tax year 2022 to 2023.
If you do not have this information, you should be able to obtain this from either your pension administrator (PSS, retirement statement) or Fire Authority (P60).