The Registered Pension Schemes (Standard Lifetime and Annual Allowances) Order 2010

Part 4 of the Finance Act 2004 (c. 12) (“the Act”) contains provisions relating to the taxation of pension schemes. Chapter 5 of Part 4 of the Act introduced a limit on the amount of an individual’s total pension savings in registered pension schemes which can benefit from tax relief. This limit is known as the standard lifetime allowance (“SLTA”). Section 218 of the Act set the SLTA for the tax year 2006-07 and provided that subsequent allowances would be set by Treasury Order. The Registered Pension Schemes (Standard Lifetime and Annual Allowances) Order 2007 (S.I. 2007/494) (“the 2007 Order”) set the SLTA for the tax years 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Chapter 5 of the Act also introduced a limit on the annual input to registered pension schemes for an individual. This limit is known as the annual allowance. Section 228 of the Act set the annual allowance for the tax year 2006-07 and provided that subsequent allowances would be set by Treasury Order. The 2007 Order set the annual allowance for the tax years 2007-08 to 2010-11.

Article 2 of this Order specifies that the SLTA for each of the tax years 2011-12 to 2015-16 is £1,800,000. Article 3 specifies that the annual allowance for each of the tax years 2011-12 to 2015-16 is £255,000.

A full Impact Assessment has not been produced for this instrument as no impact on the private or voluntary sectors is foreseen.