Pension Contribution using Unused Allowance

Questions about how much you can contribute to your Personal Pension if you had a lump sum available, and the Tax Relief available - if you have not used all your Pension Allowance over the previous 3-year period

Hi Antony Jenkins,
You can add your surplus pension allowance from the previous 3 tax years to the pension allowance for the year in question.  If your gross pension payment does not exceed the revised threshold, then there is nothing to declare.  Where you exceed the revised pension threshold, you will need to declare the difference in a self assessent tax return, as tax relief will not be due. You can discuss with your pensoin provider, whether your pension pot will cover the tax due.
Thank you.

Thanks for the reply. Here’s the more detailed question: I want to make a lump sum contribution to my Personal Pension pot. I have unused allowance for the last 3 years (2021-22 to 2023-24) and wanted to check that my workings are correct before I make the contribution. In year 2021-22 I earned £43k from PAYE Salary + Bonus + Side Hustle [SH] items, in 2022-23 16k from Self Employment and SH, and in 2023-24 £15k from Self Employment and SH again. In the same years I understand my Allowances would have been 40k [limited by the 40k rule as I earned more], 16k and 15k respectively. [being max. 100% of Income]. I understand that I could have therefore made 71k in contributions (being the sum of the Allowances noted above) during these 3 years. My actual Cumulative Contributions for the last 3 years were just 1,091 - which came from the PAYE employment period. As I only paid in 1,091 I believe have the ability to pay in just under 70k this year (if I had that much). I only want to pay in 35k - being the proceeds from a savings account that has matured after being locked away for 3 years. These savings came from a redundancy package after 21 years employment. I am in receipt of a DB pension (since age 50), but I have not started to take any of my Personal [DC] Pension pot. I want to add to it with this lump sum and leave it there to continue to grow for at least the next 5 years. Can you confirm that a) I can make this 35k pension contribution, and b) I will receive the tax relief on it too? If I can’t do the £35 what can I do and have the tax relief please? Thanks

Hi Antony Jenkins,
Please refer to guidance here:
Tax on your private pension contributions
If you want a definitive answer you would need to contact us direct on 0300 200 3300.
Thank you.