Neil MacGillivray: Weathering a defined contribution pensions storm

During the summer, HM Treasury published a call for evidence around pension tax relief. The premise behind the request is that certain low earning individuals do not enjoy tax relief on their pension contributions, whereas others do. There are three ways in which personal contributions to a pension can obtain tax relief; a net pay arrangement, relief at source (RAS) and gross contributions. These relief methods have evolved over time with net pay and RAS becoming the main modes. A net pay arrangement works on the basis that an individual receives tax relief at their marginal rate w...