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What is the most efficient way of putting money into a pension from my limited company and how much should I pay in ?

When it comes to pensions and retirement the two most common questions I get asked by business owners are…..

  1. What is the most tax efficient way of putting into a pension ?
  2. How much should I pay into my pension ?

Putting cash into your pension plan makes good financial sense at any point because at the end of the day you get the double whammy – you’re saving for your future AND saving tax.

In this article, I’ll answer these two questions….and a few others.

Let’s get started….

Broadly how do pensions work?

The norm is to pay money in your pension via regular monthly payments. This money is then invested by your pension provider and over time the value of your pension grows and grows.

When you retire, you have a lump sum of money in your pension and at that point it’s your decision what you then do with this money.

You essentially have 3 choices meaning you can:-

  1. Take all (or some of it) as cash and currently the first 25% is tax-free.
  2. Use the money in your pension to buy a product (an ‘annuity’) that gives you a guaranteed income every month until the day you die.
  3. Invest the money in a fund to get a regular, adjustable income (sometimes known as ‘flexi-access drawdown’).

Just bear in mind that, in all three cases the money you receive will be treated as income and will be subject to income tax.

Workplace Pension v Personal Pension Plan?

Workplace Pension

The main benefits are simplicity and low cost.

You just enrol in the company scheme and everything (from choosing the right investment plan or how much to pay) is taken care of. Some workplace pension providers charge very little meaning the cost to you is often small.

Personal Pension

The main benefits are the higher growth and bigger pension value you can expect to get by the time you retire.

You tailor your pension contributions and where that money is invested to suit your situation and what is important to you.

Typically your money is actively managed by the pension provider (for which there is a cost) but in return you can expect the final value of your pension to be much higher than if it wasn’t managed.

What is the most tax efficient way of putting money into a pension?

In the main there are two options for a business owner to put money into a pension and the tax implications are quite different.

To illustrate what the main tax implications are I’ll use a worked example.

Example. John has his own company and has an annual income of £75,000 paid by way of low salary and high dividends. He now wants to put £8,000 into his pension.

 

1 Make payment direct from your company

A company can make payments into a director’s personal pension as part of their ‘remuneration package’.

Those pension payments are a cost to the company and therefore reduce its profits.

The lower profit saves tax by reducing the company’s corporation tax bill.

The amount of corporation tax saved will vary –

It will depend on how much profit the company has made.

On profits made after 1/4/23 the corporation tax saving could be:-

 

25% tax saving       On taxable  over £250,000 

        19% tax saving       On taxable profits less than £50,000

26.5% tax saving    On taxable profits from £50,000 to £250,000

Worked example.

The Corporation Tax saving could be – £1,520 (if 19%), £2,000 (if 25%) or £2,210 (if 26.5%).

 

2 Make payment from personal funds

When making payments this way the tax position is invariably more complicated.

The taxpayer will get tax relief on the pension payments which are made in two ways. That said you need to remember that, in most cases, to get the money out of the company in the first place tax will have already been paid.

 

When pension payments are made personally the Government tops up the personal pension with basic rate (ie 20%) tax relief.

IF the taxpayer pays high rate tax then some of this tax which they have paid can be reclaimed.

Worked Example:

The pension payment is £8,000 meaning the Government tops this up with 20% basic rate income tax (ie £2,000) meaning an extra £2,000 is now in the pension.

As John is a higher rate taxpayer he can claim the difference between higher rate tax (40%) and basic rate tax (20%). This would result in John receiving a tax refund of £2,000.

 

BUT. Whilst John has received £4,000 in tax relief (£2,000 into pension & £2,000 tax refund) we must factor in the tax that was paid to take the £8,000 out of his company.

In order to declare an £8,000 dividend the following taxes would have been paid…

  • company will pay between £1,520 and £2,210 in corporation tax
  • John will pay £4,075 in higher rate dividend tax.

SO. Whilst John receives £4,000 in tax relief on the pension payments the company and himself will have to pay between £5,595 and £6,285 in tax first.

 

In Summary

The exact figures will vary depending a taxpayer’s precise circumstances but the figures in the worked example suggest that, as a general rule, option 1 is more likely to be the most tax efficient

How much money should I put into my pension?

In short it depends.

In my experience business owners adopt one of the following two approaches when deciding how much pension contributions to make.

 

 

1 Financial Planning Approach

This approach is essentially a 3-step process where you start with how much cash is needed for retirement and work backwards to work out what pension contributions need to be.

Please bear in mind that there some involved calculations so it might be advisable to speak to a Chartered Financial Planner who can help you with this.

 

Step 1 – Retirement Lifestyle

Consider the lifestyle you might want in retirement….including what holidays you will enjoy and what activities you will do.

Having an idea of what your lifestyle will look like and means you can put a price tag on it – ie how much cash do you need (in today’s prices) to pay for it.

 

Step 2 – Required Pension Value

Once you have an idea how much your lifestyle will cost you can then start to work out how much cash needs to be in the pension to pay for that lifestyle.

A key factor here is the retirement date. The reason being that the earlier the retirement date means there are fewer years to contribute into a pension and build up the value of your pension.

Another key factor here to consider is are there any other sources of income (eg share portfolios, other pensions, rental properties, etc) that you have (or expect to have) in place when you retire which will give you cash.

 

Step 3 – The Pension Gap

The Pension Gap is merely the difference between the value of your pensions now compared to the required value of your pensions on the day of retirement.

Once you know the size of the Pension Gap you can start to work out how much the pension contributions need to be each year to close it.

 

 

2 Contribution Approach

This approach is completely different. It’s more about how much pension contributions can I afford….do I feel comfortable about making them….is it tax efficient….is it a better use of my money ?

There is no right or wrong answer.

What I often see are business owners who want to put money into a pension each month BUT are uncomfortable about committing to a large amount each month. This is understandable. If cashflow in the business gets tight then you can’t ask the pension provider to repay any large pension payments.

 

SO

 

To reduce the risk of a cashflow problem I see many business owners decide to pay a modest amount into their pension each month.

Then towards the end of the financial year they then make a one-off payment into their pension in order to top up what they’ve paid each month.

When deciding how much that one-off payment is business owners will tend to consider :-

  • How much excess profit have I made this year
  • How much corporation tax do I want to save this year
  • Do the future prospects for the company look good (or not)
  • How much ‘spare’ cash is there in business bank account
  • How much of the annual and/or lifetime pension allowance are still unused

Do you need an independent financial adviser?

If you need help with your pension then you should speak to an independent financial adviser (IFA).

A good IFA will be able to help you with…

  • Choosing the right pension scheme
  • Choosing where your pension contributions are best invested
  • Clarifying how much your pensions need to be worth to pay for your lifestyle in retirement
  • Clarifying how much you will probably need to pay each year into your pension

An accountant isn’t qualified to give advice on any of this.

BUT.

A good accountant can add a lot of value by looking at the tax implications of contributing to a pensions scheme AND what is the most tax efficient option for you.

 

 

 

 

Disclaimer
It is important that you take professional advice before making any decisions based on the information that you learnt here. While every effort has been made to make sure it is accurate it cannot be precisely tailored to your personal circumstances. This article is for general information only and no action should be taken, or refrained from, as a result of this information.  Professional advice should be taken based on specific circumstances in each individual case.  Whilst we endeavour to ensure that the information contained in the article is correct, no liability will be accepted by Krystal Clear Accounting which is a trading name of Kim Marlor Associates Ltd or damages of any kind arising from the contents of this communication, or for any action, inaction or decision taken as a result of using any such information.

 

What are Bank Feeds and how do they work?

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In short, bank feeds create a digital link between your business bank account and your accounting software, such as Xero or QuickBooks.  

This means bank transactions are automatically downloaded into the accounting software. This simple piece of automation, completely removes the need to manually input every bank receipt and payment into the accounting software. 

Having bank feeds in place, saves a HUGE amount of time bookkeeping. That’s because it completely removes the need to manually input bank transactions into the accounting software. 

Saving time bookkeeping isn’t the only benefit for the business…. 

 

 

What is the most effective way of putting money into a pension from your limited company and how much should I pay in

What are the main benefits to a business using bank feeds?

Bank feeds automate, what was previously, a time-consuming task of entering all the bank transactions into the accounting software. 

 This saves the business a HUGE amount of time (& money) spent on bookkeeping.  

With bank transactions being downloaded from the bank every day, it means it’s quicker and easier to keep the bank balance in the accounting software up-to date. 

With the accounting software up-to date, the bank is updated daily which gives you a clearer, real-time view of your business’s cash flow.  

This makes it easier for you to plan your cashflow, and take action to improve it. 

There is always the risk of errors being made when data is being manually inputted into the accounting system. It is often time-consuming to find and correct any errors. Also, if an error is large then the Profit & loss and Balance Sheet reports will be inaccurate and potentially misleading. 

 Automating the bank transaction entry previously manual process, reduces the risk of errors being made and ensures that the bookkeeping records and reports are accurate. 

How to Link Your Bank to Xero

Ensure that your bank account is set up for online banking. This feature is typically available from all major banks. 

Log into your Xero account and navigate to the banking section. Select ‘Add Bank Account’ and follow the prompts to search for your bank. 

After adding your bank account details, you’ll see an option to set up bank feeds. Click ‘Agree’ to the terms, then securely log into your online banking portal through Xero to authorize the connection. 

 

Are Bank Feeds Safe & Secure?

Yes. 

Firstly, having bank feeds in place ONLY means bank transactions are downloaded into the accounting system. They do NOT give anyone else access to the business bank account. 

 Secondly, XERO has various security measures in place to give you a piece of mind that your financial data is safe and secure: 

 

  • Encrypted Connections: Xero uses advanced encryption technology to secure the data transmission from your bank to Xero. This means your sensitive information is encrypted during transit and cannot be intercepted or read by unauthorized parties. 

 

  • Compliance and Standards: Xero adheres to high standards of data security compliance, thus ensuring that its practices meet or exceed industry security standards and regulations. 

 

  • Regular Renewals: To maintain a high level of security, XERO requires that the bank feed connection is renewed every 90 days. This process is straightforward and helps ensure that the integrity of your financial data is always protected. 

 

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KIm Marlor the MD of Krystal Clear Accounting
krystal clear accounting

In Summary

In short, having bank feeds really saves businesses time and money on their bookkeeping.  

 They automate and eliminate what is otherwise a time consuming and error prone manual process.  

 Bank feeds is just one of the ways technology can be used to help business owners improve the financial side of their business.

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