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.

Looks at the change in the rules to allow all people in receipt of a War Widow(er)s' Pension in April 2015 to keep it for life (regardless of remarriage or cohabitation) and at the campaign for reinstatement of pensions already surrendered
War widows' pensions (358 KB , PDF)
Where a surviving partner receives compensation payments, these might change if they remarry, enter into a civil partnership, or start cohabiting with another person. The rules have changed over time, resulting in a complicated picture.
In the Armed Forces Compensation Scheme (AFCS), survivors’ benefits are unaffected by any subsequent marriage, civil partnership or cohabitation for partners of service personnel whose death was attributable to their service from 6 April 2005.
For deaths occurring before 6 April 2005, the overall payment may be made up of a non-attributable pension from Armed Forces Pension Scheme (AFPS 75) and a compensation award. The compensation award may be made up of two parts:
Under both schemes, the original policy was to withdraw survivors’ benefits in the event of remarriage or cohabitation. The rules have changed so that:
The change introduced on 1 April 2015 did not extend to those who had already surrendered a War Widows’ Pension on remarriage, entering into a civil partnership or cohabitation.
The Minister for Defence People, Veterans and Service Families, Dr Andrew Murrison, announced in May 2023 that the Government would establish a scheme to cover those who forfeited their pension by remarrying or cohabiting before the rules changed in 2015. The new scheme will make a tax exempt one-off payment of £87,500 to each eligible widow(er) from winter 2023.
War widows' pensions (358 KB , PDF)
This briefing discusses changes to the lifetime and annual allowances - which limit tax relief on pension savings.
This briefing provides background information on nuclear weapons tests, the Government’s recognition of nuclear test veterans and current and previous legal action in this area. There will be a Westminster Hall debate on nuclear test veterans and medical records on 28 November 2023.
This briefing paper details the support available to armed forces veterans in Great Britain and Northern Ireland.