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Tax treatment of public service pensions remedy

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The Public Service Pension Schemes (Rectification of Unlawful Discrimination) (Tax) Regulations, SI 2023/113, set out changes to how the pensions tax rules apply to pension scheme administrators and members of public service pension schemes affected by the public service pensions remedy which makes retrospective changes broadly going back to 2015 (see the Public Service Pensions and Judicial Offices Act 2022). This includes changes to how schemes report and pay extra tax charges or reclaim overpaid tax, and ensure that schemes can pay pension benefits as authorised payments.

The legislation comes into force on 6 April 2023 but some provisions apply retrospectively to reflect the nature of the discrimination remedy periods.

The public service pensions remedy acknowledges that using age as the basis for deciding whether to move civil servants onto a new pension scheme was unlawful discrimination. Those who lost out in the period before remedial action was taken are being given the option to take the higher benefits that they otherwise would have accrued.

The aim of these regulations is to put individuals in the tax position they otherwise would have been in, had the discrimination not taken place.

Issue: 1606
Categories: News
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