Finance Act 2004

219 Availability of individual’s lifetime allowance

(1) This section is about the availability of the individual’s lifetime allowance on the occurrence of a benefit crystallisation event in relation to the individual (“the current benefit crystallisation event”).

(2) If no benefit crystallisation event has occurred in relation to the individual before the current benefit crystallisation event, the whole of the individual’s lifetime allowance is available on the current benefit crystallisation event.

(3) If one or more benefit crystallisation events have occurred in relation to the individual before the current benefit crystallisation event—

(a) in a case in which the previously-used amount is equal to or greater than the amount of the individual’s lifetime allowance, none of the individual’s lifetime allowance is available on the current benefit crystallisation event, and

(b) in any other case, so much of the individual’s lifetime allowance as is left after deducting the previously-used amount is available on the current benefit crystallisation event.

(4) The previously-used amount is—

(a) where one benefit crystallisation event has occurred in relation to the individual before the current benefit crystallisation event, the amount crystallised by the previous benefit crystallisation event as adjusted under subsection (5), or

(b) where two or more benefit crystallisation events have occurred in relation to the individual before the current benefit crystallisation event, the aggregate of the amounts crystallised by each previous benefit crystallisation event as adjusted under subsection (5).

(5) The adjustment of the amount crystallised by a previous benefit crystallisation event referred to in subsection (4)(a) and (b) is the multiplication of that amount by—

where—

• CSLA is the standard lifetime allowance at the time of the current benefit crystallisation event, and

• PSLA is the standard lifetime allowance at the time of the previous benefit crystallisation event.

(6) Where more than one benefit crystallisation event occurs in relation to an individual on the same day, it is for the individual to decide the order in which they are to be treated as occurring for the purposes of this section; but this subsection is subject to section 166(2) (entitlement to pension commencement lump sum to arise immediately before entitlement to associated pension).

(7) Where more than one benefit crystallisation event occurs by reason of the payment of lump sum death benefits in respect of an individual the benefit crystallisation events are to be treated for the purposes of this section as occurring immediately before the individual’s death.

(8) Paragraph 20 of Schedule 36 makes provision affecting this section in relation to pre-commencement pensions.

(9) In this Part references (however expressed) to the portion of a person’s lifetime allowance that is available at any time are to the portion of the person’s lifetime allowance that would be available, calculated in accordance with this section, if a benefit crystallisation event occurred in relation to the person at that time.