Source · Select Committees · Public Accounts Committee
Recommendation 14
14
We also asked who benefited from pension tax reliefs, and the split between different types...
Conclusion
We also asked who benefited from pension tax reliefs, and the split between different types of pensions. HMRC told us that its aim was to be fully transparent with all the information that it held, and referred to the work that had been undertaken to support the government’s 2015 review of pension tax reliefs.23 In September 2019, HMRC published data on the cost of different pension tax reliefs between 2012–13 and 2017–18. HMRC’s data did not show which groups or sectors benefited from these reliefs, or how the reliefs were used by those working in the public and private sectors, or by those with defined contribution or defined benefit schemes.24
Government Response
Not Addressed
HM Government
Not Addressed
2.4 The Government agrees with the Committee’s recommendation. Target implementation date: December 2021 2.5 HMRC will publish data showing who is benefitting from pensions reliefs to the extent data is available. HMRC publishes annual statistics showing the total costs of pensions tax relief. Estimates are necessarily based on a combination of data sources, listed below and published in the document Background and Methodology: a) contributions to occupational schemes from the ONS’ Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings; b) contributions to personal pensions taken from data provided to HMRC by pension providers. c) pension scheme’s investment income supplied by the ONS; and d) administrative data held by HMRC on Real Time Information payments made by pension schemes’ 2.6 HMRC publishes information on contributions to personal pensions based on data reported by pension schemes for administrative purposes. There is no additional statistical burden placed on pension providers to report employer contributions so tables showing contributions are not split by gender, age, country and region. 2.7 There is insufficient data available to produce statistics on all protected characteristics. Any disaggregate of the cost of pension tax relief is reliant on data reported to HMRC, data collected by third parties, and organisations such as the ONS. The government is working towards improving the information that it publishes on pensions tax reliefs. 2.8 Equalities impacts are considered throughout policy development and are published as part of this process, either as part of consultations or in tax information and impact notes.