Coronavirus: protected pension age

In an update to Pension Schemes Newsletter 124, HMRC says the protected pension age easement for certain pension scheme members re-employed as a result of coronavirus will expire on 1 November 2020 and will not be extended further.

Some individuals who were members of pension schemes before 6 April 2006, including some police, firefighters and other uniformed service personnel, have protected pension ages, meaning they are able to receive pension benefits at an age below the normal minimum pension age of 55. Under current legislation, those individuals with a protected pension age in the range 50 to 54 would lose the benefit of their protected pension age and become liable to unauthorised payment tax charges if they access their pension benefits and either (i) continue to work without a break in service or (ii) return immediately to service without a break of at least one month.

The government temporarily suspended these rules where such individuals returned to work as part of the government’s response to coronavirus (see Pension Schemes Newsletter 119), for the period from 1 March to 1 November 2020.