After threatening pension savers for months that they planned to re-introduce the Pension Lifetime Allowance if elected to government, Labour appears to have scrapped this idea, for now.

Of course, no promise or plan can be set in stone. Labour says this now but once comfortable in government who knows what they might change. Circumstances change and tax policies along with it.

So, should you be worried about saving too much into a pension?

Is now the time to take your money out?

It’s best not to make any rash decisions until you understand the real position in more detail.


The pension Lifetime Allowance was introduced back in 2006. The purpose of it was not to limit the amount of money that can be saved into a pension, but instead to limit what could be taken out without an extra tax charge.

For example, someone could in theory save £10million into a pension and not pay any Lifetime Allowance tax charge until they withdrew over the limit.

The charge for taking out more than the Lifetime Allowance was dependant on how you took your benefits (lump sum or income) and could have been up to 55% of the withdrawal.

In April 2024 the Conservative government abolished the Lifetime Allowance in its current form.

It has never removed it completely.

What has come in its place is actually probably more confusing.

We now have two new allowances:

1. The Lump Sum Allowance.
2. The Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance.

The Lump Sum Allowance restricts how much tax-free cash you can take out of your pension to £268,275 (at the time of writing).

As for the Lump Sum Death Benefit Allowance. This effectively restricts how much of your pension you can pass onto a beneficiary to £1,073,100 (at the time of writing) before they have to start paying Income Tax on it.

There are various protection arrangements in place if you had built up pension benefits under older Lifetime Allowance limits that were already above reduced Lifetime Allowance limits.

The uncertainty since the Conservatives announced the abolishment of the Lifetime Allowance has not helped with retirement planning.

I have heard many stories of people making large withdrawals from their pensions just because they were scared of what tax charges a new government might bring in.

The sensational headlines from some newspapers have also not helped people remain in control of their emotions.

Until we see the cold hard facts of any new rules, we should not be trying to second guess what to do with our retirement planning.

We can only work with what we know, remain flexible and adapt if necessary.

Even with the Lifetime Allowance charge, pensions have always been a fantastic way to save for your retirement. Here are three reasons why.


#1 – Income Tax Relief
#2 – Tax free investment growth
#3 – No Inheritance Tax


Labour say they have no plans to bring back the Lifetime Allowance charge but that doesn’t mean they won’t change their mind. As we have already seen, there is still a version of the Lifetime Allowance in place anyway.

Labour are not even in government yet and might not even be elected, although seems highly likely based on all the polls.

The point is not to make any rash decisions before you understand the full facts and implications of any changes. This is where a Financial Adviser can be really useful. Pensions and the taxation of them can be complex.

As it stands the benefits still applicable to pensions far outweigh the downside of any Lifetime Allowance issue so don’t be put off.

Let the pension be your retirement goldmine.

#labourparty #pensionlifetimeallowance #labourscraplifetimeallowance

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