To ask His Majesty's Government what the total amount of tax relief on all pensions was for the last five years.
Answered on
2 October 2023
Information on estimates of Income Tax relief on pension contributions and investment income of pension funds can be found online in Table 6 of the Private pension statistics publication. Estimates for the tax years 2018 to 2019 to 2020 to 2021 have been reproduced in Table 1 below.
Table 1: Total pension Income Tax relief for tax years 2018 to 2019 to 2020 to 2021.
Tax year | Total pension Income Tax relief, £million |
2020 to 2021 | 44,100 |
2019 to 2020 | 41,700 |
2018 to 2019* | 38,200 |
*Improvements in the estimation methodology for the tax years 2019 to 2020 onwards mean that estimates for the tax year 2018 to 2019 are not directly comparable to those in later years.
Estimates for the 2021 to 2022 tax year will be published on 27th September 2023. Estimates for the 2022 to 2023 tax year will be published in Summer 2024.
HMRC does not hold complete information on whether contributions have been made to personal or occupational pension schemes.
Information on the National Employment Savings Trust is exempt from release by HMRC under the Commissioners for Revenue and Customs Act 2005 (CRCA).