Frozen pensions and UK tax

[Chris Evans]

Hi Mike,

   Some progress on my battle to get my UK tax coding corrected. The new (wrong) code was passed by HMRC to my occupational pension provider, and implemented this month, with the result that over half of that pension went in tax in the April instalment. My pension provider was unable to help, saying that they are obliged to apply the tax coding received, however ridiculous. I at last managed to get through to HMRC, by hanging on the phone persistently until they answered. They then at first advised me to contact the DWP for a written statement of my true UK state pension !

   When I protested, and said that they had my UK State Pension as 56,316 pounds, the response was "oh is that wrong then ?"  Anyway, they finally agreed to correct my code, notify my pension provider, and mark our files so that it does not happen again (I wonder ?)

     A final point of interest, when I asked "where did that ridiculous figure come from ?", the reply was the DWP. I was assured that HMRC requests pension statements from DWP for all UK pensioners, wherever in the world they live, including the UK- well, that's what they told me !

(so does that answer your previous question about its origin ?)

      So that is the problem solved for another year, except that I now have to recover the tax wrongly deducted.  Many thanks for your helpful comments and advice...Chris

PS: I must just add one final comment- the precious piece of paper from DWP confirming a pensioner's true pension total is accompanied by a standard letter, but the page on which the vital figures are printed  (Form IPC 147) has only those figures on it, and nothing else- there is nothing whatever to identify the pensioner to whom those figures apply- it could be anybody"s !