Redundancy payment into pension

Hello - I'm being made redundant on 31st March 2024. I want to pay a significant sum from the redundancy payment into my defined contribution pension. My employer won't pay this directly into the pension fund and say I need to arrange this once I have received my redundancy lump sum that will be taxed at the higher rate at source. They say my redundancy will be paid in full within 14 days of being made redundant. My questions are 1. In which tax year will I be liable for tax on my redundancy, the tax year I'm made redundant or the tax year I receive the redundancy payment into my bank account? 2. When I pay a lump sum into my defined contribution pension they add the tax I paid at the basic rate. How and when can I claim back the tax I paid at the higher rate? Do I have to wait until the next self assessment ? Thanks

Hi Ian Kelly,

Tax will be chargeable against the redundancy payment in the tax year in which it is paid.  
You would declare the redundancy payment in a self assessment tax return on SA101.  
In the main tax return (SA100) payments to registered pension schemes, where basic rate tax relief will be claimed by your pension provider (called ‘relief at source’) would be claimed by entering the payments and basic rate tax in box 1 of page TR4.

Thank you.