Pension tax relief: The annual allowance and lifetime allowance
This briefing discusses changes to the lifetime and annual allowances - which limit tax relief on pension savings.

Facts, figures and sources information on public service pensions
Public service pensions - facts and figures (630 KB , PDF)
The six largest public service pension schemes in the UK – the schemes for the Armed Forces, the Civil Service, NHS, Teachers, Police and Firefighters (which operate on a pay-as-you-go basis) and the Local Government Pension Scheme (which is funded) are statutory defined benefit (DB) pension schemes (i.e. they provide pension benefits based on salary and length of service).
These schemes were reformed under the Public Service Pensions Act 2013. Key features of the new schemes included:
Active members of the schemes prior to April 2015 were transferred onto the new schemes, except for those covered by transitional protection for those ‘closest to retirement.’ A different approach was taken with the Local Government Pension Scheme, where a new scheme was introduced in 2014 and transitional protection provided by means of an ‘underpin’. For more detail, see Public service pensions: the 2015 reforms, Commons Library Briefing Paper CBP 5678.
The transitional protection arrangements were found by the Court of Appeal in 2018 to constitute unlawful age discrimination in relation to firefighters and judges. The Government has consulted on a remedy to address this and intends to bring forward primary legislation to implement this and to move all active scheme members to the reformed schemes from 1 April 2022.
The aim of this note is to provide the facts and figures on public service pensions and sources of additional information.
Public service pensions - facts and figures (630 KB , PDF)
This briefing discusses changes to the lifetime and annual allowances - which limit tax relief on pension savings.
This briefing paper details the support available to armed forces veterans in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
A summary of the announcements in the 2023 Autumn Statement and an overview of the latest economic forecasts.