What happened to the Lifetime Allowance for my UK pension?

The UK Chancellor confirmed in the 2023 Spring Budget that the UK’s Lifetime Allowance (LTA) for pensions would be abolished from 6 April 2024. For the 2023/24 tax year, the LTA will remain in place, and pension providers will still be required to carry out applicable LTA checks, but if your pension savings exceeds your applicable LTA, no LTA charge will be applied.

The UK’s LTA has been the amount of savings you could take from all your UK pension savings (excluding the UK State Pension) without facing a UK tax charge. The LTA applied irrespective of the fact you are no longer a UK resident and/or taxpayer. Since 5 April 2020, the standard Lifetime Allowance has been £1,073,100. You may have certain protections against the LTA, or have applied for a LTA greater than the standard LTA. If you applied for protection in the past, you should have received a certificate to confirm the protection obtained.