Fixed Protection 2016

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You can apply for Fixed Protection 2016 if you expect your pension savings to be more than £1 million when you take them after 6 April 2016. With Fixed Protection 2016, your lifetime allowance is fixed at £1.25 million.
 
Before 6 April 2023, you would lose Fixed Protection 2016 if your benefits increased by more than the cost of living in any tax year. The cost of living increase in 2016/17 was zero, which meant you could only hold Fixed Protection 2016 if your LGPS membership ended before 6 April 2016. If you remained a member after 6 April 2016, you would have lost this protection.
 
You would also have lost Fixed Protection if you:
 
  • started a new pension arrangement, other than to accept a transfer of existing pension rights
  • paid into a money purchase pension arrangement, other than to a life assurance policy that you started before 6 April 2006
  • transferred your pension, except in limited circumstances.
 
From 6 April 2023, if you hold a valid fixed protection certificate, you will be allowed to build up new pension benefits, join a new pension arrangement, or transfer without losing your protection, as long as you applied for the protection before 15 March 2023.
 
If you apply for Fixed Protection on or after 15 March 2023, the rules about losing it set out above still apply.