The July Budget (2): Salary Sacrifice

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In the run up to the Budget, there was some concern that the Chancellor might “call time” on the use of Salary Sacrifice in Employee Benefits provision.

This was not mentioned in the Budget speech itself, but I have just come across this paragraph in the supporting HM Treasury “Summer Budget 2015″ document which I am currently wading my way through;

“Salary sacrifice arrangement can allow some employees and employers to reduce the income tax and National Insurance that they pay on remuneration. They are becoming increasingly popular and the cost to the taxpayer is rising. The government will actively monitor the growth of these schemes and their effect on tax receipts.”

So the concerns would appear to be valid, albeit there is clearly no appetite to change this at the moment.

That said, the most significant use of Salary Sacrifice is around pension contributions, and as per my earlier post the entire system of pension tax reliefs may be subject to change in the not too distant future anyway.

For the moment however, Salary Sacrifice (and indeed pension tax reliefs) remain unchanged for most.

Best regards

Steve

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About the author

Steve Herbert is an award-winning thought leader on Pensions and Employee Benefit issues. His principal aim is better communicating the value and usage of employee benefits to employers. This he has achieved through many (highly successful) seminar series over the last decade, and his regular and widely read blog posts on the subject.
He also acts as a judge in HR and Employee Benefits industry awards, article writer, and product innovator. Steve is a regular contributor to DWP forums and compulsive responder to formal Government Consultations on pension and employee benefit issues. He is occasionally accused of making employee benefits interesting.