HMRC ruling severs clients from pension benefits 'for years'

Providers and advisers have both slammed the “grossly unfair unintended consequence” of rule changes following last month’s retirement age rise from 50 to 55. It means those aged 50-54 in unsecured pension (USP) schemes face an unauthorised payment charge of a huge 55% if they transfer to another pension scheme or annuitise. AJ Bell marketing director Billy Mackay says his company spotted there might be a problem in the legislation months ago, with many providers warning the wording of the new rules was ‘ambiguous’, but HMRC assured him it “wasn’t an issue”. Mackay says: “For HMRC ...