EPN500 - Pension Savings Statement - Civil Service Pension Scheme

Date posted: 28/06/2017

Audience

Pension Leads & HR Managers
Internal Communications Managers

Actions

To note the timetable for sending Pension Savings Statements.
To make members aware of their obligation to check if they will incur a tax charge.
To inform members affected by tax legislation of the timescale and support services that are available to them.
To make you aware of the support services available to you.

Timing

Immediate

Detail

This notice provides you with an update on the following aspects of Pensions Tax:

the timing of Pension Savings Statements;
the support services available for members and employers;
action required and timetable for members.

Timing of Pension Savings Statements

This year, we will start sending Pension Savings Statements in mid-July. We will deliver the majority of statements by 1 September 2017, in advance of the regulatory deadline of 6 October 2017.

We will send statements to members who meet one or more of the following criteria:

a) the member has breached their Annual Allowance in 2016/17; and/or

b) the member earns over £100,000; and/or

c) the member has requested a Pension Savings Statement.

Members will receive:

a covering letter;
a single Pension Savings Statement or, if the member has benefits in alpha and one of the sections of the Principal Civil Service Pension Scheme (PCSPS), two Pension Savings Statements.

Support available to members

We understand that some members may find the subject of pensions and tax complicated. To help, we will provide support on the dedicated Pensions and Tax section of our website, including a step-by-step guide to Pension Savings Statements and FAQs.

Pensions Tax Awareness sessions for members

As agreed last year, you must offer Pensions Tax Awareness sessions to eligible employees at your cost. You should offer the following:

tailored, individual one-to-one sessions for members who have already breached the Lifetime Allowance limit of £1m;
group sessions to members who receive a Pension Savings Statement;
tailored, individual one-to-one sessions for members who have calculated that they have an annual allowance tax charge to pay.

You may organise your own sessions but we have arranged for MyCSP to contract with Origen, an external financial services provider, to give this support. The cost of Origen provided Pension Tax Awareness sessions is as follows:

Group sessions
£1,700	Group session (maximum of 20 people)
£3,200	Cost for a full day, this includes three group sessions
Individual sessions
£695	A tailored one-to-one session
£1,150	A tailored one-to-one session with personalised letter and follow up

Smaller employers can choose to join with other employers to run group sessions together if they wish. Origen can deliver sessions via phone or video conference for overseas staff if required.

Book a place

To book a Pensions Tax Awareness session for members, please complete a ‘Tax Support Enquiry Form’ available at: www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/members/pensions-and-tax/faqs-help-support/ .

Please return your completed form to taxsupport@mycsp.co.uk.

Alternatively, you can book sessions by calling the Tax Support booking numbers: 01903273781 or 01903760351.

In order to support members to meet their self-assessment tax return deadlines, we advise you to book sessions before the end of October 2017.

Action required by members

After receiving a Pension Savings Statement, members will need to calculate if they have a tax charge to pay or not. To do this, they will need to review their Civil Service Pension Savings Statement(s) alongside any statement they may have received from any other pension arrangements.

If the member has a tax charge to pay, it can either be paid:

directly to HMRC via self- assessment; or
via Scheme Pays (which means we will pay some or all of the member’s Annual Allowance charge in return for a reduction in their Civil Service pension benefits).

Notifying HMRC of a tax charge via self- assessment

If the member calculates that they have a tax charge to pay, they must notify HMRC on their self-assessment tax return. The deadlines for returning a self-assessment tax return are as follows:

31 October 2017 (if completed in paper format);
31 January 2018 (if completed online).

Scheme Pays

There are two types of Scheme Pays: Mandatory and Voluntary.

Mandatory Scheme Pays can be used if:

a member’s tax charge is over £2,000; and
the tax charge has resulted from an increase in benefits from a single Civil Service Pension Scheme; and
the Scheme Pays deduction is applied to the benefits within that Scheme.

Voluntary Scheme Pays can be used if:

A member does not meet the Mandatory Scheme Pays criteria but still wishes to pay their tax charge by Scheme Pays.

Timetable for members

In the table below, we have listed the actions and deadlines for members who wish to pay their tax charge by Scheme Pays.

Action	Deadline date
Members receive a Pension Savings Statement	By 6 October 2017
Members request a Scheme Pays quote	By 10 November 2017
We will issue a Scheme Pays quote	By 30 November 2017
Members return Scheme Pays form accepting the quote	By 15 December 2017
We will process Scheme Pays deductions	By 29 December 2017
Members notify HMRC of a tax charge and their intention to pay it via Scheme Pays	By 31 January 2018
The pension scheme pays the tax charge by Voluntary Scheme Pays	By 31 January 2018
The pension scheme pays the tax charge by Mandatory Scheme Pays	By 14 February 2019

Support available to employers

We have also arranged with MyCSP to contract with Origen to provide Pension Tax Awareness sessions for employers from 7 July to 18 July. These sessions will only be available to HR colleagues who are responsible for arranging the member Pension Tax Awareness Sessions and who provide support to members. The sessions will be free to attend and will aim to:

provide an overview of pensions and tax;
improve general understanding of Pension Savings Statements;
improve understanding of what causes a breach of the Lifetime or Annual Allowances;
highlight the importance of accurate data;
provide information about tax support for members, including key deadlines and action to take.

The dates, times and locations of the sessions are as follows:

Date	Location	Venue	Time
Friday 7 July 2017	Edinburgh	National Library of Scotland 312-320 Lawnmarket Edinburgh EH1 2PJ	Session 1: 11am - 2pm
Friday 14 July 2017	Cardiff	National Assembly of Wales Ty Hywel Pierhead Street Cardiff Bay Cardiff CF99 1NA	Session 2: 10am - 1pm Session 3: 1:30pm - 4:30pm
Tuesday 18 July 2017	Birmingham	Ofwat Centre City Tower 7 Hill Street Birmingham B5 4UA	Session 4: 10am - 1pm Session 5: 1:30pm - 4:30pm

Book a place

To book a place at one of the Pensions Tax Awareness sessions for employers, please use the online booking form available at: www.mycsp.co.uk/resources/training-services/employer-training-services/

Places are allocated on a first come, first served basis.

Please note, if you plan to attend sessions in Cardiff, you must reserve your place a minimum of 48 hours prior to the stated course date.

Management Information

We recognise that it is important for you to know which members will receive a Pension Savings Statement. We will send a list of the members who will receive a statement to your HR Director and / or lead pension contact immediately after we have issued the statements.

Action required by employers

You should take the following action immediately:

Reserve your place on the relevant Employer Pension Tax Awareness session, using the online booking system.

Once we have issued statements to members, you should take the following action:

Communicate the timeline of actions and deadlines to relevant members.
Communicate the requirement for members who receive a Pension Saving Statement to take any necessary action.
Raise awareness of the Pensions Tax Sessions available to members.
Book Pension Tax Awareness sessions for any of those members who wish to attend.

You should also begin planning the delivery of your internal communications to arrange Pensions Tax Awareness sessions for members.

If you have any questions about the timetable or support available for Pension Savings Statements, please contact Mark Singleton (mark.singleton@cabinetoffice.gov.uk)

Contacts

If you have a question about the distribution of EPNs, contact employerpensionnotice@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

You can find electronic copies of the Employer Pension Guide, all current EPNs and forms on our website.

This notice is for employers only. Please do not issue it to scheme members.

If members want information about their Civil Service pension, they should visit the scheme website www.civilservicepensionscheme.org.uk/ or contact the Scheme Administrator.