Pension plans mainly funded by tax rebates

More than pounds 4.5bn of contributions into personal pension funds last year came from tax and National Insurance rebates, almost twice the amount paid in by policyholders themselves, according to new figures from the Inland Revenue.

Revenue statistics for the tax year ending 5 April this year show that holders of personal pensions paid in pounds 2.35bn in contributions. This compared with pounds 2.1bn in tax reliefs and pounds 2.43bn of National Insurance rebates.

The figures suggest a large part of pension fund managers' income is ultimately funded by the Government in foregone taxes rather than directly by policyholders.

The rebates form part of the array of incentives offered in order to boost saving for retirement. Similar incentives apply to occupational pension schemes.

The figures show the extent to which policyholders have been encouraged to switch out the the state earnings-related pension scheme (Serps) by the offer of additional NI contributions into their personal pensions. Such rebates are also paid to those in company schemes who contract out of Serps.

But the limited proportion of policyholders' funds paid into personal pensions raises fears that, despite the Government's encouragement, most are not doing enough to ensure an adequate income at retirement.

About 7.75 million personal pensions have been sold since 1988, of which some 3.1 million are rebate-only. This is where no payment other than the NI contribution is paid into the pension.

Matthew Demwell, actuary and client director at Sedgwick Noble Lowndes, and also a member of the Association of Consulting Actuaries, said: "On average, we are talking about roughly pounds 400 a year being paid into a personal pension by each policyholder.

"This is nothing like the level of saving needed to fund a decent retirement. The amount needed to achieve two-thirds of pay is more like 10 per cent throughout a working life."

Mr Demwell said that, while the use of tax relief was not inappropriate to encourage saving for retirement, personal pensions had shown themselves to be relatively cost-inefficient compared to their occupational counterparts.

Donald Duval, director of research at Alexander Clay, the actuarial firm, said that the NI contributions being diverted by the state into personal pensions would have to be paid out as Serps pensions at a later stage.

"The same broad point could be made about the tax concessions," he said. "The Government is not collecting taxes now but will do so in future years when pensions are paid out. Deferral of taxation is helping to increase savings."