At retirement (age 55, rising to 57 in 2028) you can take 25% of each pension pot tax-free — up to the £268,275 Lump Sum Allowance. How it works, the strategies, the traps to avoid, and what the LSA replaced.
Where should your £5,000 UK bonus go in 2025/26 — ISA, pension or split? Worked examples for basic, higher and additional-rate taxpayers showing the 30-year compounded difference between a £5,000 bonus into S&S ISA vs salary-sacrificed into pension.
How much emergency fund a UK household needs in 2026 — 3 to 6 months of essentials, where to hold it (Cash ISA, easy-access, Premium Bonds), and a worked example for a £2,500/month family budget.
If you opened a Help to Buy ISA before 30 November 2019 you have until 1 December 2030 to claim the 25% government bonus on up to £12,000 of savings. Here's how the deadline works and whether to transfer to a Lifetime ISA.
Full rules for transferring Cash ISA to Stocks & Shares ISA in 2025/26: partial transfers, current-year vs prior-year, the 15-day deadline, and how to avoid breaking the £20,000 allowance.
Junior ISA gives £9,000/year, no tax, accessible at 18. A Children's SIPP gives £3,600 gross with 20% tax relief and locks money to age 57. Side-by-side worked example over 18 years.
The £1.073m Lifetime Allowance was abolished from 6 April 2024 and replaced by three new limits in 2025/26: Lump Sum Allowance (£268,275), Lump Sum and Death Benefit Allowance (£1,073,100), and an Overseas Transfer Allowance. Here's how the new framework works.
The Lifetime ISA 25% withdrawal charge is not the same as losing the 25% bonus — it claws back more. Worked example on a £20,000 LISA closed early: the real penalty is 6.25% of your contributions, plus all the growth on the recovered bonus.
Every 3 years UK employers must re-enrol staff who previously opted out of the workplace pension. The 2026 re-enrolment cycle explained: dates, who's caught, employer duties, and how the 8% minimum contribution rebuilds a pension pot worth tens of thousands by retirement.
UK pension carry forward lets you sweep up to three years of unused £60,000 annual allowance into one tax year — up to £200,000 total contributions. How it works, the rules and a worked example saving £24,000.
HMRC's pension recycling rule prevents taking a 25% tax-free lump sum and 're-investing' it back into a pension to claim relief twice. Here's how the £7,500 trigger works and how to stay onside.
The tapered annual allowance starts at £260,000 threshold income and £260,000 adjusted income, cutting your £60,000 pension allowance by £1 for every £2 over the threshold — down to a £10,000 floor. Worked examples for 2025/26.
