Bitesize Technical
In these short, easily digestible videos, our experts break down a range of essential technical topics to help you confidently navigate the latest regulatory and legislative changes.
Pensions
Dive into our pension series for easy-to-digest insights on complex subjects.
Contributions
Our pension contributions videos cover all the basics of who can make contributions, how tax relief is applied, the various allowances, and dealing with any charges.
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Annual allowance, explained
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what the annual allowance is;
- what counts towards it; and
- what happens when the annual allowance is exceeded.
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Carry forward
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what carry forward is;
- who is eligible to use it; and
- how carry forward interacts with other allowances.
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Defined benefit accrual
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how DB contributions are measured against the member’s annual allowance; and
- how to calculate annual allowance usage.
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Employer contributions
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how tax relief applies to employers, including the ‘wholly and exclusively’ rule; and
- how salary sacrifice, the annual allowance and employer contributions work.
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Money purchase annual allowance
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what the MPAA is;
- how it is triggered; and
- how it interacts with other allowances.
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Net pay contributions
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- which pension schemes can use net pay; and
- how tax relief is applied differently for employees with higher or lower earnings.
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Contribution refunds
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- when contributions can be refunded; and
- what is considered an excess contribution.
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Relief at source
5 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the rate of tax relief applied under relief at source;
- how it is received; and
- how clients can claim higher-rate tax relief.
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Scheme pays
5 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- conditions for using scheme pays;
- member liability; and
- reporting requirements.
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Tapered annual allowance
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- when and how the tapered annual allowance is applied; and
- how the taper impacts the annual allowance.
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Third-party contributions
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- who can make a third-party contribution; and
- tax relief and limits on third-party contributions.
Benefits
Our pension benefits videos look at the various options available to clients when accessing their pension, how benefits are taxed, and how they are tested against the new allowances.
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Capped drawdown
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- differences between capped and flexi-access drawdown;
- key factors when calculating income; and
- converting from capped to flexi-access drawdown.
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Flexi-access drawdown
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what flexi-access drawdown is;
- the income flexibility it offers; and
- how PCLS and the MPAA relate to flexi-access drawdown.
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Ill-health pension benefits
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- basic requirements for ill-health and serious ill-health retirement; and
- how serious ill-health lump sums can be taken.
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Lifetime annuities
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- taking tax-free PCLS;
- using funds already in drawdown;and
- what guarantee periods mean for clients.
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Pension benefits overview
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- lump sum withdrawal options;
- the difference between PCLS and UFPLS; and
- income options.
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Pension commencement lump sums
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- when and how clients take PCLS;
- how to calculate the maximum PCLS; and
- lump sum allowance restrictions.
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Scheme pensions explained
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- which schemes can provide pension income through a scheme pension; and
- how scheme pensions are taxed.
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Small lump sums
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- small pot payments;
- when trivial commutation lump sums are available; and
- how winding up lump sums work.
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Taxation of pension payments
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how tax codes can impact pension payments; and
- how overpayments can be reclaimed.
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Testing pension benefits
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- when benefits are tested in the member’s lifetime;
- how the new allowances work; and
- how death benefits are now tested.
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Transitional arrangements
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the new lump sum and death benefit allowances;
- how previously crystallised benefits are tested; and
- how to apply the standard transitional calculation.
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Uncrystallised Funds Pension Lump Sums
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how clients can withdraw lump sums via UFPLS; and
- tax-free limits.
Death benefits
What happens to a client’s pension when they die? In these videos we look at the options available for beneficiaries, nominations made by the member, and how trustees exercise their discretion in deciding who receives benefits.
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Death benefits overview
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- who can receive funds left in a pension; and
- how death benefits are taxed, including if inheritance tax applies to pensions.
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Death benefit nominations
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how death benefits can be paid;
- which beneficiaries are eligible; and
- what happens when a beneficiary dies.
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Death benefits – how trustees exercise discretion
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the laws trustees must follow; and
- how expressions of wish impact decisions.
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Inheritance tax and pensions
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the impact of binding nominations and ill-health contributions; and
- how much IHT could be payable.
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Lump sums death benefits
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- key scenarios if a member dies before, on, or after their 75th birthday; and
- how special lump sum death benefit charges can be offset against income tax.
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Charity lump sum benefits
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the treatment of charity lump sums;
- what happens pre or post death at 75; and
- how dependants affect payments.
Transfers
In these videos, our experts look at different aspects of pension transfers, including statutory rights, overseas transfers and defined benefit transfers.
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Pension transfers overview
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what’s involved in the process;
- how transfers can be made; and
- if there are age restrictions.
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Statutory right to transfer
5 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the checks pension schemes must do before a transfer; and
- what happens when red flags appear, or statutory rights don’t exist.
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Transfers where members have protection
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the rules for transfers involving protected benefits; and
- when a transfer qualifies as block or single.
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Overseas pensions transfers explained
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the conditions a scheme must meet to gain QROPS status; and
- considerations when transferring pensions abroad.
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Defined benefit pension transfers
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- when members can transfer out of a DB scheme; and
- key protections in place to ensure informed decisions.
Pensions and divorce
We look at the options available when dealing with pensions for divorcing couples, including the impact of divorce on any protection held by clients.
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Pensions and divorce overview
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- the factors that determine ‘a fair split’;
- the main methods for dividing; and
- transferring pensions on divorce.
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Pension sharing orders
5 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how a PSO provides a clean financial break between divorcing parties; and
- what it means for clients receiving or transferring pension benefits.
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Pension earmarking overview
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what pension earmarking is; and
- how it works in practice.
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Pension offsetting
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what pension offsetting means in practice; and
- why it’s the simplest method for dividing pension rights.
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Pension sharing and the impact on protections
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- when protections may be lost; and
- what disqualifying pension credits are.
Protection
Although the lifetime allowance has been abolished, holding protection can still be valuable – especially when it comes to the amount of tax-free cash a client can receive. These videos look at how the protections work under the new lump sum allowance and lump sum and death benefit allowance regime.
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Enhanced protection explained
4 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what conditions needed to be met to qualify;
- the benefit of holding enhanced protection; and
- which protections could be held.
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Primary protection explained
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- what conditions needed to be met to qualify;
- the benefit of holding primary protection; and
- what it means to hold primary protection now.
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Fixed protection explained
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- why fixed protection was introduced;
- the differences between the 2014 and 2016 versions; and
- what holding fixed protection means now.
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Individual protection explained
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- why individual protection was introduced;
- what conditions needed to be met; and
- what holding individual protection means now.
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Scheme-specific lump sum protection
2 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how this protection works with LSA and LSDBA;
- how the protected lump sum is calculated; and
- if the lump sum is tested against the new allowances.
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Scheme-specific lump sum protected pension age
3 minute watch
You’ll learn:
- how the right to take pension earlier is acquired; and
- how this protection works in practice.
Visit our technical home
Where our regulatory and legislative experts discuss the subjects that matter. You’ll find everything you need, from articles to easily digestible videos on key changes.