Overview

• Around 60,000 savers reclaimed tax on pension withdrawals in 2023-24, about 20% more than the roughly 50,000 the year before.
• The average refund rose to £3,342, up £280, or 9%, compared with 2022-23.
• About 11,700 people received at least £5,000 back, including 2,400 refunded more than £10,000, and a handful saw refunds exceed £100,000, with the top 25 averaging £106,900.
• Emergency PAYE rules can treat an initial lump-sum withdrawal as recurring monthly income for the year, leading to temporary overpayments even though 25% of most pots can be taken tax free.
• HMRC says it repays anyone overcharged and, after automating tax-code updates for new private-pension recipients from April, it has pledged quicker refunds, while total repayments since 2015 have reached about £1.4bn and industry warns 2027 inheritance-tax changes may spur more one-off withdrawals.