Annual allowance quick check tool

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Overview

You can use this tool to check if your LGPS pension saving is likely to exceed the annual allowance. The annual allowance is the amount your pension savings can increase in a tax year without you having to pay a tax charge. The allowance is set by the Government.

The annual allowance was £40,000 from 2016/17 to 2022/23. It has been £60,000 since 2023/24.

See the Tax section - Opens in a new browser window for information about how the value of your LGPS pension saving is calculated for this purpose.

How this tool works

You can use this tool to check if your LGPS pension saving in any tax year from 2016/17 to 2025/26 is likely to exceed the annual allowance.

You will need to input the value of your LGPS pension benefits at the start and end of the tax year, and any AVCs you have paid during the year. The tax year runs from 6 April to 5 April.

You can use the pension figures from your annual benefit statements to provide a good estimate. However, because the figures on your statements are calculated for the year from 1 April to 31 March, rather than from 6 April to 5 April, the results won’t be completely accurate. If you think you are near to, or likely to exceed the annual allowance in any tax year, you should contact your pension fund for more accurate information.

You cannot use this tool:

To check if you have unused annual allowance before 2016/17 which could be carried forward
To check the amount of annual allowance used in other pension schemes
If you are subject to the tapered annual allowance in the tax year you are checking
If you have flexibly accessed pension benefits from another pension scheme (you will be issued with a flexible access statement if you have)
If you have transferred non-LGPS pension benefits into the LGPS in the tax year you are checking
If you have aggregated previous LGPS benefits with your current LGPS pension account in the tax year you are checking

If any of the above circumstances apply, refer to the Tax section - Opens in a new browser window or contact your pension fund.

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Your circumstances

* Denotes a required field

I confirm that

I am not subject to the tapered annual allowance in the tax year I am checking* - This is a required field

I have not flexibly accessed pension benefits from another pension scheme* - This is a required field

I have not transferred pension rights into the LGPS in the tax year I am checking* - This is a required field

I have not aggregated previous LGPS benefit with my active pension account in the tax year I am checking* - This is a required field

You have not ticked all the boxes above. If any of the circumstances above apply, this tool is not suitable for your use. Please see the Tax section or contact your pension fund - Opens in a new browser window for more information.

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Pension details

* Denotes a required field

Select Tax Year* - This is a required field

? The tax year you want to check.

Cost of Living Adjustment is % ? The value of your pension at the start of the year will be increased by this.

Start of Pension Input Period

Yearly Pension (£)* (whole pounds only) - start of pension input period - This is a required field

? The value of your yearly pension on the last day of the previous tax year eg to check the tax year 2024/25, enter the value of your pension on 5 April 2024.

Automatic Lump Sum (£)* (whole pounds only) - start of pension input period - This is a required field

? The value of any automatic lump sum on the last day of the previous tax year eg if you are checking tax year 2024/25, enter the value on 5 April 2024. You will only have an automatic lump sum if you were a member of the LGPS before 1 April 2009.

End of Pension Input Period

Yearly Pension (£)* (whole pounds only) - end of pension input period - This is a required field

? The value of your yearly pension on the last day of the tax year you are checking eg if you are checking tax year 2024/25, enter the value of your pension on 5 April 2025.

Automatic Lump Sum (£)* (whole pounds only) - end of pension input period - This is a required field

? The value of any automatic lump sum on the last day of the tax year you are checking eg if you are checking tax year 2024/25, enter the value on 5 April 2025. If you joined the LGPS after 1 April 2009 you will not have an automatic lump sum (but you will be able to give up pension for lump sum when you take your pension).

AVC Contributions (£)* (whole pounds only) - This is a required field

? The amount of in house AVCs paid by you and/or your employer during the tax year. You can find this information on the annual statement from your AVC provider. If you don't pay AVCs enter 0 in this field.

Results

The results show that you have not exceeded the standard annual allowance in this tax year.
Estimated amount of annual allowance used	£

About your results

This check tool does not take into account any unused annual allowance from previous tax years that you may be able to carry forward to reduce or offset a tax charge. If you have pension savings from other pension schemes you will also need to take these into account.

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Next steps

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Next steps

To find out more about the annual allowance, including how to pay a tax charge, use the links below.

Tax
Watch the video – Your annual allowance (03:22)
GOV.UK – tax on your private pension
Financial advice

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Local Government Pension Scheme